Thursday nights on TV are as competitive as it gets, so the last thing the broadcast networks need is a strong cable show grabbing viewers on the night.
They may well now have that in “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” on USA, which began airing original episodes of the longstanding crime series in the hotly contested 10 p.m. Thursday timeslot on Oct. 4, after years on NBC.
Just three weeks in, “Criminal Intent” looks to be cutting into audiences for broadcast shows like ABC’s “Big Shots,” CBS’s “Without a Trace” and NBC’s “ER.”
The third episode last week averaged 4.5 million total viewers, which would have placed it No. 5 behind its broadcast rivals. It would have finished No. 3 in viewers 25-54, with nearly 2.2 million, and No. 8 in 18-49s, with 2.1 million viewers.
Those numbers are solid for any cable program, especially an original scripted drama, and they can be expected to only grow. Last week, “Criminal Intent” was up 33 percent in total viewers over the prior week, and up 40 percent among 25-54s and 31 percent among 18-49s.
Moreover, the show has significantly boosted USA's ratings in that timeslot. Total viewers are up 99 percent through the three episodes, averaging 3.9 million, versus October 2006. Viewers 18-49 are up 117 percent, to 1.8 million, and 25-54s are up 116 percent, to 1.9 million.
Meanwhile, for a variety of reasons, including time-shifted viewing, the network ratings for the 10 p.m. Thursday timeslot are down sharply from last season.
"ER” averaged 10.1 million total viewers last week, down 31 percent from 14.6 million on the same night last year, while a preview of CBS’s now-cancelled “Viva Laughlin” drew 8.4 million viewers, off 41 percent from the 14.2 million an episode of “Shark” attracted last year. ABC’s “Big Shots” drew 7.6 million total viewers, down 13 percent from the 8.7 million that watched an episode of “Six Degrees” on the same night a year ago.
What's the growth potential for “Criminal Intent” on USA? It would appear to be quite hefty. Last season on NBC, the series averaged 6.6 million households and 3.5 million viewers 18-49.
It has the might of NBC Universal, which also owns USA, behind it, and that might has been in full force to let viewers know that “Criminal Intent” has moved to USA. That's included an extensive outdoor campaign, as well as spots on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” and “Criminal Intent” reruns that air on both USA and Bravo, another NBC Universal property.
Ads for USA’s “Criminal Intent” originals have also aired during original episodes of “Special Victims Unit” on NBC.
Meanwhile, in other cable ratings for the week ended Oct. 21:
Top five networks in primetime (18-49s): ESPN, USA, TBS, TNT, MTV.
Top five networks in primetime (total viewers): ESPN, USA, TBS, TNT, Fox News Channel.
Top movie (18-49s): TNT’s “The Wedding Date” (Sunday, 10 p.m.) 1.61 million
Top sporting event (total viewers): ESPN’s “Monday Night Football: Giants-Falcons” (Monday, 8:30 p.m.) 8.48 million
Shows making the top 10 among 18-34s, 18-49s and 25-54s: ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” (Monday, 8:30 p.m.); USA’s “WWE Entertainment” (Monday, 9 and 10 p.m.), Comedy Central’s “South Park” (Wednesday, 10 p.m.).
Show on the rise: Oxygen’s “Snapped” and “Captured,” Sunday 10 and 10:30 p.m. Oxygen’s “Crime Time Reality” block of programming had its best outing of the season, with “Snapped” posting a 0.7 rating among households and a 0.6 among women 18-49 and “Captured” grabbing a 0.6 among households and a 0.5 among women 18-49, all season highs.
Show on the decline: MTV’s “The Real World,” Wednesday 10 p.m. MTV’s long-running reality show saw an 18 percent week-to-week decline among viewers 18-34, from 1.38 million to 1.13 million.
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TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Ranked on Household Rating
Week Ending October 21 |
|
Rank |
Primetime |
Total Day |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
ESPN
|
2244
|
NICK
|
1563
|
|
2
|
USA
|
2115
|
USA
|
1098
|
|
3
|
TBSC
|
1409
|
ESPN
|
1027
|
|
4
|
TNT
|
1303
|
NAN
*
|
1020
|
|
5
|
FOXN
|
1157
|
TOON
|
864
|
|
6
|
NAN
|
1125
|
TNT
|
839
|
|
7
|
TOON
|
1059
|
ADSM*
|
754
|
|
8
|
LIF
|
915
|
TBSC
|
745
|
|
9
|
HALL
|
909
|
LIF
|
682
|
|
10
|
HGTV
|
892
|
FOXN
|
670
|
|
11
|
CORT
|
859
|
HALL
|
617
|
|
12
|
SPK
|
848
|
HGTV
|
554
|
|
13
|
MTV
|
846
|
AEN
|
532
|
|
14
|
AEN
|
825
|
HIST
|
491
|
|
15
|
FX
|
778
|
CORT
|
485
|
|
16
|
SCIF
|
773
|
TVLD
|
485
|
|
17
|
CMDY
|
765
|
MTV
|
484
|
|
18
|
FAM
|
760
|
FAM
|
483
|
|
19
|
HIST
|
747
|
DISC
|
472
|
|
20
|
BET
|
745
|
FX
|
454
|
|
21
|
AMC
|
729
|
CMDY
|
451
|
|
22
|
DISC
|
724
|
SPK
|
442
|
|
23
|
TLC
|
713
|
AMC
|
434
|
|
24
|
TVLD
|
698
|
FOOD
|
432
|
|
25
|
VH1
|
658
|
CNN
|
391
|
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE PROGRAMS
Ranked on Households
Week Ending October 21 |
|
Rank
|
Program |
Net
|
(000) |
|
1
|
Giants/Falcons
|
ESPN
|
6446
|
|
2
|
Law & Order: CI (Orig)
|
USA
|
3652
|
|
3
|
College Football Saturday
|
ESPN
|
3605
|
|
4
|
College Football Thursday
|
ESPN
|
3269
|
|
5
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
3260
|
|
6
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
3059
|
|
7
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2883
|
|
8
|
NLCS Diamondbacks-Rockies 4
|
TBSC
|
2853
|
|
9
|
Back At The Barnyard
|
NICK
|
2809
|
|
10
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2741
|
|
11
|
Back At The Barnyard
|
NICK
|
2705
|
|
12
|
College Football Saturday
|
ESPN
|
2669
|
|
13
|
The Hills
|
MTV
|
2663
|
|
14
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2565
|
|
15
|
Zoey 101
|
NICK
|
2536
|
|
16
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2518
|
|
17
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2514
|
|
18
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2472
|
|
19
|
Drake & Josh
|
NICK
|
2466
|
|
20
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2429
|
|
21
|
South
Park
|
CMDY
|
2421
|
|
22
|
Law & Order: SVU
|
USA
|
2419
|
|
23
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2410
|
|
24
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2408
|
|
25
|
Law & Order: SVU
|
USA
|
2400
|
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending October 21 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
ESPN
|
743
|
ESPN
|
413
|
|
2
|
TBSC
|
614
|
ADSM*
|
412
|
|
3
|
USA
|
599
|
TBSC
|
297
|
|
4
|
MTV
|
501
|
NAN
*
|
296
|
|
5
|
CMDY
|
425
|
NICK
|
287
|
|
6
|
BET
|
414
|
USA
|
271
|
|
7
|
VH1
|
389
|
MTV
|
264
|
|
8
|
FX
|
365
|
CMDY
|
251
|
|
9
|
TNT
|
350
|
TNT
|
219
|
|
10
|
FAM
|
278
|
VH1
|
203
|
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending October 21 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
The Hills
|
MTV
|
2222
|
|
2
|
Giants/Falcons
|
ESPN
|
2216
|
|
3
|
South
Park
|
CMDY
|
1910
|
|
4
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
1545
|
|
5
|
Life of Ryan
|
MTV
|
1513
|
|
6
|
I Love
New York 2
|
VH1
|
1423
|
|
7
|
Shot At Love: Tila Tequil
|
MTV
|
1362
|
|
8
|
BET HipHop Awards
|
BET
|
1319
|
|
9
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
1294
|
|
10
|
Sarah Silverman Program
|
CMDY
|
1287
|
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-49
Week Ending October 21 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
ESPN
|
1509
|
ESPN
|
731
|
|
2
|
USA
|
1264
|
USA
|
629
|
|
3
|
TBSC
|
1095
|
TBSC
|
541
|
|
4
|
TNT
|
755
|
ADSM*
|
512
|
|
5
|
MTV
|
641
|
NAN
*
|
507
|
|
6
|
FX
|
630
|
TNT
|
497
|
|
7
|
CMDY
|
612
|
NICK
|
463
|
|
8
|
SPK
|
610
|
LIF
|
395
|
|
9
|
BET
|
603
|
CMDY
|
364
|
|
10
|
VH1
|
541
|
MTV
|
342
|
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS
Adults 18-49
Week Ending October 21 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
Giants/Falcons
|
ESPN
|
4631
|
|
2
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2619
|
|
3
|
College Football Saturday
|
ESPN
|
2535
|
|
4
|
The Hills
|
MTV
|
2523
|
|
5
|
South
Park
|
CMDY
|
2516
|
|
6
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2344
|
|
7
|
College Football Thursday
|
ESPN
|
2145
|
|
8
|
Law & Order: CI (Orig)
|
USA
|
2052
|
|
9
|
I Love
New York 2
|
VH1
|
1939
|
|
10
|
NFL Countdown
|
ESPN
|
1894
|
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 25-54
Week Ending October 21 |
|
|
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Rank
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
ESPN
|
1443
|
ESPN
|
648
|
|
2
|
USA
|
1221
|
USA
|
627
|
|
3
|
TBSC
|
953
|
TNT
|
509
|
|
4
|
TNT
|
799
|
TBSC
|
476
|
|
5
|
SPK
|
602
|
LIF
|
401
|
|
6
|
SCIF
|
567
|
NAN
*
|
388
|
|
7
|
LIF
|
541
|
NICK
|
381
|
|
8
|
AEN
|
517
|
SPK
|
299
|
|
9
|
FX
|
500
|
AEN
|
298
|
|
10
|
TLC
|
498
|
DISC
|
290
|
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS
Adults 25-54
Week Ending October 21 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
Giants/Falcons
|
ESPN
|
4511
|
|
2
|
College Football Saturday
|
ESPN
|
2628
|
|
3
|
Law & Order: CI (Orig)
|
USA
|
2160
|
|
4
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2133
|
|
5
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
1980
|
|
6
|
College Football Thursday
|
ESPN
|
1928
|
|
7
|
NFL Countdown
|
ESPN
|
1774
|
|
8
|
NLCS Diamondbacks-Rockies 4
|
TBSC
|
1736
|
|
9
|
South
Park
|
CMDY
|
1680
|
|
10
|
Sportscenter
|
ESPN
|
1512
|
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
