For the broadcast networks, Thursday has long been the most important night, and increasingly the most contested, as first CBS and then ABC began targeting the night with their best shows.
There now looks to be another contender, cable's USA.
Cable networks have a history of picking one night of the week to shine, putting on their best shows (Sunday for HBO, Wednesday for Bravo, Tuesday for FX) with the aim of making the channel itself a destination, beyond individual programs.
For USA, that night has become Thursday over this summer with two new ordinal series, “The Starter Wife” and the just-debuted “Burn Notice.” Last week they lifted USA to No. 1 on basic cable in total viewers and adults 18-49 on Thursday evening.
Come fall, USA may well begin airing original episodes of “Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” the longtime staple of NBC, on Thursdays as well. Under a renewal deal for the series, originals will air on USA and then later repeat on NBC, in a reversal of how things have long worked.
USA has yet to confirm it will air "L&O" originals on Thursday, but it has been considering it, and it would certainly make sense.
USA executives have said the network wants to establish a foothold on the most lucrative night of the week in terms of ad spending, when movie studios and others are looking to reach consumers making plans for the weekend.
It also makes sense for USA to begin establishing its Thursday base during the summer, when broadcast is in repeats and the competition is slow.
Just how much damage USA would do to broadcast on Thursday is hard to say, with the night as competitive as it is with top-rated shows like ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” and CBS’s “CSI.”
But then that would not be the issue. Rather it would be how much it could improve its audience on a night so highly valued by advertisers.
Both "Burn" and "Wife" have given it a good start.
The 10 p.m. commercial-free premiere of “Burn” averaged 2.0 million 18-49 viewers and finished first for the night on basic cable in primetime in the demo. It even beat ABC's “Men in Trees” on broadcast.
The finale of “Wife,” meanwhile, was down from its debut, but still drew 1.6 million 18-49s, finishing No. 16 for the week in that demographic.
Meanwhile, in other cable ratings for the week ended July 1:
Top five networks in primetime (18-49s): USA, BET, TNT, TBS, Lifetime
Top five networks in primetime (total viewers): USA, TNT, BET, Lifetime, Fox News
Top movie (18-49s): Lifetime’s “Girl Positive” (Sunday, 8 p.m.) 1.87 million
Top sporting event (total viewers): TNT’s “Nextel Cup/Loudon” (Sunday, 2:30p.m.) 5.27 million
Shows making the top 10 among 18-34s, 18-49s and 25-54s: USA’s “WWE Entertainment” (Monday 8 p.m.); USA’s “WWE Entertainment” (Monday 9 p.m.); USA’s “WWE Entertainment” (Monday 10 p.m.); BET’s “BET Awards Show” (Tuesday 8 p.m.); VH1’s “Charm School” (Sunday 10 p.m.)
Show on the rise: VH1’s “Charm School,” Sunday 10 p.m. The first-season finale had the show’s best outing since its premiere, averaging 1.76 million among 18-34s.
Show on the decline: BET’s “BET Awards,” Tuesday 8 p.m. Though it drew a huge audience, the 6.39 million viewers were down slightly from last year’s viewership.
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TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Ranked on Household Rating
Week Ending July 1 |
|
Rank |
Primetime |
Total Day |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
USA
|
2092
|
NICK
|
1681
|
|
2
|
TNT
|
1715
|
NAN *
|
1225
|
|
3
|
LIF
|
1364
|
ADSM*
|
1046
|
|
4
|
FOXN
|
1308
|
TNT
|
1025
|
|
5
|
BET
|
1284
|
USA
|
1008
|
|
6
|
NAN
|
1165
|
TOON
|
974
|
|
7
|
TBSC
|
1157
|
FOXN
|
795
|
|
8
|
TOON
|
1050
|
LIF
|
767
|
|
9
|
AEN
|
1020
|
TBSC
|
673
|
|
10
|
ESPN
|
1016
|
AEN
|
615
|
|
11
|
HIST
|
973
|
DISC
|
591
|
|
12
|
CORT
|
962
|
HIST
|
550
|
|
13
|
SCIF
|
897
|
HALL
|
542
|
|
14
|
HALL
|
870
|
ESPN
|
518
|
|
15
|
HGTV
|
863
|
SPK
|
506
|
|
16
|
SPK
|
853
|
FX
|
501
|
|
17
|
DISC
|
847
|
FAM
|
499
|
|
18
|
AMC
|
794
|
CORT
|
498
|
|
19
|
CNN
|
782
|
BET
|
492
|
|
20
|
FX
|
781
|
CMDY
|
492
|
|
21
|
FAM
|
739
|
HGTV
|
492
|
|
22
|
TLC
|
697
|
MTV
|
488
|
|
23
|
CMDY
|
682
|
CNN
|
467
|
|
24
|
TVLD
|
675
|
TVLD
|
462
|
|
25
|
FOOD
|
613
|
FOOD
|
445
|
|
* 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 July 1 |
|
Rank
|
Program |
Net
|
(000) |
|
1
|
The Closer
|
TNT
|
4637
|
|
2
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
3859
|
|
3
|
Nextel Cup Racing/Loudon
|
TNT
|
3825
|
|
4
|
BET Awards Show
|
BET
|
3824
|
|
5
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
3659
|
|
6
|
Nextel Post Race Show
|
TNT
|
3632
|
|
7
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
3365
|
|
8
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
3254
|
|
9
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
3253
|
|
10
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
3115
|
|
11
|
Burn Notice
|
USA
|
3095
|
|
12
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
3012
|
|
13
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2899
|
|
14
|
Army Wives
|
LIF
|
2877
|
|
15
|
Charm School
|
VH1
|
2742
|
|
16
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2663
|
|
17
|
Family Guy
|
ADSM
|
2639
|
|
17
|
Girl Positive
|
LIF
|
2639
|
|
17
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2639
|
|
20
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2637
|
|
21
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2590
|
|
22
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2588
|
|
23
|
Larry King Live
|
CNN
|
2529
|
|
24
|
Family Guy
|
ADSM
|
2508
|
|
25
|
Drake & Josh
|
NICK
|
2486
|
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending July 1 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
USA
|
692
|
ADSM*
|
472
|
|
2
|
BET
|
608
|
NICK
|
333
|
|
3
|
TBSC
|
390
|
NAN *
|
306
|
|
4
|
LIF
|
356
|
USA
|
281
|
|
5
|
ESPN
|
352
|
MTV
|
250
|
|
6
|
MTV
|
345
|
TNT
|
246
|
|
7
|
FX
|
339
|
TBSC
|
240
|
|
8
|
TNT
|
339
|
CMDY
|
229
|
|
9
|
DISC
|
309
|
DISC
|
210
|
|
10
|
CMDY
|
302
|
FX
|
208
|
|
* 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 July 1 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
BET Awards Show
|
BET
|
2110
|
|
2
|
Charm School
|
VH1
|
1775
|
|
3
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
1441
|
|
4
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
1378
|
|
5
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
1361
|
|
6
|
Family Guy
|
ADSM
|
1268
|
|
7
|
Family Guy
|
ADSM
|
1231
|
|
8
|
Futurama
|
ADSM
|
1088
|
|
9
|
Girl Positive
|
LIF
|
1082
|
|
10
|
Robot Chicken
|
ADSM
|
1072
|
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-49
Week Ending July 1 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
USA
|
1450
|
USA
|
627
|
|
2
|
BET
|
1026
|
TNT
|
613
|
|
3
|
TNT
|
934
|
ADSM*
|
576
|
|
4
|
TBSC
|
799
|
NAN *
|
552
|
|
5
|
LIF
|
778
|
NICK
|
515
|
|
6
|
ESPN
|
660
|
TBSC
|
460
|
|
7
|
DISC
|
656
|
LIF
|
445
|
|
8
|
FX
|
645
|
DISC
|
403
|
|
9
|
AEN
|
609
|
FX
|
375
|
|
10
|
SCIF
|
588
|
AEN
|
365
|
|
* 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 July 1 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
BET Awards Show
|
BET
|
3631
|
|
2
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2811
|
|
3
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2734
|
|
4
|
Nextel Post Race Show
|
TNT
|
2675
|
|
5
|
Charm School
|
VH1
|
2632
|
|
6
|
Nextel Cup Racing/Loudon
|
TNT
|
2567
|
|
7
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2389
|
|
8
|
Army Wives
|
LIF
|
2023
|
|
9
|
Burn Notice
|
USA
|
1984
|
|
10
|
The Closer
|
TNT
|
1914
|
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 25-54
Week Ending July 1 |
|
|
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Rank
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
USA
|
1478
|
TNT
|
641
|
|
2
|
TNT
|
1040
|
USA
|
636
|
|
3
|
BET
|
864
|
NAN *
|
478
|
|
4
|
LIF
|
783
|
LIF
|
438
|
|
5
|
TBSC
|
768
|
TBSC
|
422
|
|
6
|
SCIF
|
676
|
NICK
|
406
|
|
7
|
DISC
|
647
|
DISC
|
373
|
|
8
|
ESPN
|
636
|
AEN
|
368
|
|
9
|
AEN
|
631
|
SPK
|
336
|
|
10
|
HIST
|
615
|
HIST
|
324
|
|
* 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 July 1 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
BET Awards Show
|
BET
|
3039
|
|
2
|
Nextel Post Race Show
|
TNT
|
2888
|
|
3
|
Nextel Cup Racing/Loudon
|
TNT
|
2856
|
|
4
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2694
|
|
5
|
The Closer
|
TNT
|
2574
|
|
6
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2484
|
|
7
|
Burn Notice
|
USA
|
2186
|
|
8
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2114
|
|
9
|
Army Wives
|
LIF
|
2027
|
|
10
|
Charm School
|
VH1
|
1969
|
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
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