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Strong ratings for
three cable debuts

Syfy's 'Warehouse 13,' ABC Family's '10 Things' and History's 'Impossible'

By Diego Vasquez
Jul 9, 2009

Broadcast may be having a difficult time launching new shows this summer, but that’s not the case for cable.

Three more got off to strong starts on Tuesday night, joining programs such as USA’s “Royal Pains,” TNT’s “Hawthorne” and Showtime’s “Nurse Jackie,” which have already debuted to good numbers.

The first new series on the newly rebranded Syfy, “Warehouse 13,” boosted the network to No. 1 in primetime on ad-supported cable Tuesday night among total viewers.

“Warehouse” averaged 3.5 million total viewers in its 9 to 11 p.m. timeslot, according to Nielsen live-plus-same-day viewing numbers, making it the No. 1 cable program of the night.

It marked the third-best original series premiere ever for the network, which was called Sci Fi for its first 17 years.

“Warehouse” averaged 1.7 million adults 25-54 and 1.3 million 18-49s, beating Fox in the 9 p.m. hour on both measures and placing second and fourth for the night on cable.

Meanwhile, on ABC Family, the premiere of the comedy “10 Things I Hate About You,” based on the 1999 movie of the same name, became the network’s highest-rated comedy debut ever among total viewers (1.6 million), 18-49s (734,000), 18-34s (509,000) and women 18-34 (396,000).

It was the third-most-watched series debut in network history among women 18-34, behind “The Secret Life of An American Teenager” and “Make it or Break It.” And the show ranked No. 1 on cable in the 8 p.m. timeslot in that demo, as well as women 18-49 and viewers 12-34.

Finally, History’s new series “That’s Impossible” debuted at 10 p.m. Tuesday night, averaging 1.6 million total viewers, or 500,000 more than its second-quarter primetime average.

“Impossible” drew 830,000 18-49s and 861,000 25-54s, some 300,000 better than its usual primetime average.

Meanwhile, broadcast continued to struggle with new show launches on Tuesday, with NBC’s “Great American Road Trip” tying “Merlin,” which launched last month, for the lowest-rated summer premiere ever for the network, averaging a 1.3 rating in 18-49s.

Broadcast has yet to program a hit new show this season, though returning programs like “America’s Got Talent,” “Wipeout” and “So You Think You Can Dance” have performed well.

Diego Vasquez is a staff writer for Media Life.	© 2009 Media Life Magazine

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