'How to Rock'
breaks Nick's bad spell
Tween show debut scores solid ratings among 2-11s and 6-11s
By Toni Fitzgerald
Feb 8, 2012
Nickelodeon is looking desperately for new hits after a year in which its ratings took a dramatic and still-unexplained dip last fall that continued into January.
It seems to have found its first.
The new show "How to Rock," which premiered Saturday night after a very strong marketing push, drew good ratings for the network among both kids 2-11 and 6-11.
"Rock" averaged 1.488 million viewers 6-11 in the 9 p.m. timeslot, according to Nielsen, finishing second in the demo for the week ended Feb. 5 behind only Disney's movie "Bedtime Stories," which drew 1.819 million. A second episode of "Rock" placed in the top six too.
And it was the No. 9 show among 2-11s, averaging 1.825 million viewers and finishing as Nick's top non-"SpongeBob" show of the week.
The good debut was a rare sunny spot for Nick, which has had a rough few months. Last year Disney snapped Nickelodeon's 16-year winning streak among 6-11s in total day, inching ahead by a few thousand viewers.
And in January, Disney finished within 3 percent of its rival in 2-11s, where Nick held a 34 percent advantage last year.
The network has been battling mysterious ratings declines since September. Viacom, Nick's parent company, even asked Nielsen to investigate the sudden dips, but Nielsen insists its kids' data is correct, and no other children's network has experienced similar declines.
Nick was forced to issue a number of makegoods in fourth quarter after failing to meet ratings guarantees, and last week the network said it is bumping up its original content production by roughly one third in an effort to win back viewers.
Its first major launch as part of that effort is "Rock," about a formerly popular girl who joins a band of unpopular kids to compete with her former friends.
The quality of the new show is debatable.
"One more cookie out of the cutter, it will madden parents who can't get out of earshot," observed Media Life TV critic Tom Conroy.
But kids seemed to like it. It fits well with its lead-in, "Victorious," which focuses on kids at a performing arts school. And "Rock's" star, (Cymphonique Miller), was already a celebrity before launch; she's the daughter of rapper Master P and has appeared on Nick shows "True Jackson, VP" and "Big Time Rush."
***
In cable ratings for the week ended Feb. 5:
Top five networks in primetime (18-49s): USA, TBS, History, A&E, MTV.
Top five networks in primetime (total viewers): USA, Disney Channel, History, Fox News Channel, TBS.
Top five cable news networks in primetime (25-54): Fox News Channel, MSNBC, CNN, HLN, CNBC.
Top five cable news programs (total viewers): 1 Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" (Monday, 8 p.m.); 2. Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" (Wednesday, 8 p.m.); 3. Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" (Thursday, 8 p.m.); 4 Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" (Friday, 8 p.m.); 5. Fox News Channel's "Florida Primary" (Tuesday, 8 p.m.)
Top movie (18-49s): USA's "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" (Saturday, 8 p.m.) 1.37 million.
Top sporting event (total viewers): ESPN's "NBA Basketball: LA Lakers/Denver" (Friday, 10:56 p.m.) 2.54 million.
Shows making the top 10 among 18-34s, 18-49s and 25-54s: MTV's "Jersey Shore" (Thursday, 10 p.m.); History's "Pawn Stars" (Monday, 10 and 10:30 p.m.); USA's "WWE Entertainment" (Monday, 9 and 10 p.m.)
Show on the rise: USA's "WWE Raw," Monday, 9 p.m. The first hour of the wrestling program averaged 1.40 million viewers 18-49, up 22 percent from 1.15 million the previous week.
Show on the decline: MTV's "Jersey Shore," Thursday, 10 p.m. The reality show was still No. 1 for the week among 18-49s with 4.14 million tuning in, but that was down 14 percent from 4.82 million the week before.
|
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Ranked on Household Rating
Week Ending Feb. 5 |
|
Rank |
Primetime |
Total Day |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1 |
USA |
2249 |
NICK |
1317 |
|
2 |
DSNY |
1617 |
DSNY |
1191 |
|
3 |
HIST |
1474 |
USA |
1127 |
|
4 |
FOXN |
1453 |
ADSM* |
1089 |
|
5 |
TBSC |
1407 |
FOXN |
904 |
|
6 |
TNT |
1168 |
NAN * |
879 |
|
7 |
ADSM |
1140 |
TNT |
853 |
|
8 |
AEN |
1103 |
TOON |
807 |
|
9 |
ESPN |
1068 |
HIST |
797 |
|
10 |
FX |
914 |
TBSC |
739 |
|
11 |
HGTV |
894 |
ESPN |
701 |
|
12 |
NAN |
885 |
AEN |
646 |
|
13 |
FOOD |
856 |
HGTV |
570 |
|
14 |
SYFY |
852 |
FX |
554 |
|
15 |
MTV |
841 |
TVLD |
532 |
|
16 |
DISC |
834 |
FOOD |
526 |
|
17 |
LIF |
829 |
ID |
506 |
|
18 |
FAM |
825 |
LIF |
469 |
|
19 |
TLC |
779 |
DISC |
460 |
|
20 |
TRU |
735 |
FAM |
455 |
|
21 |
CMDY |
674 |
AMC |
449 |
|
22 |
TVLD |
673 |
MTV |
439 |
|
23 |
MSNB |
652 |
CMDY |
434 |
|
24 |
AMC |
632 |
SPK |
433 |
|
25 |
BRAV |
632 |
TLC |
430 |
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data |
|
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE PROGRAMS
Ranked on Total Viewers
Week Ending Feb. 5 |
|
Rank
|
Program |
Net
|
(000) |
|
1 |
Pawn Stars |
HIST |
7120 |
|
2 |
Pawn Stars |
HIST |
6810 |
|
3 |
American Pickers |
HIST |
6401 |
|
4 |
Jersey Shore Season 5 |
MTV |
5691 |
|
5 |
WWE Raw |
USA |
5318 |
|
6 |
WWE Raw |
USA |
5124 |
|
7 |
Gold Rush |
DISC |
4881 |
|
8 |
Bedtime Stories |
DSNY |
4196 |
|
9 |
Royal Pains |
USA |
4086 |
|
10 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
3930 |
|
11 |
NCIS |
USA |
3912 |
|
12 |
NCIS |
USA |
3832 |
|
13 |
Bedtime Stories |
DSNY |
3751 |
|
14 |
Pawn Stars |
HIST |
3738 |
|
15 |
NCIS |
USA |
3730 |
|
16 |
Bering Sea Gold |
DISC |
3729 |
|
17 |
NCIS |
USA |
3698 |
|
18 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
3655 |
|
19 |
The Big Bang Theory |
TBSC |
3650 |
|
20 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
3636 |
|
20 |
Victorious |
NICK |
3636 |
|
22 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
3587 |
|
23 |
NCIS |
USA |
3564 |
|
24 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
3508 |
|
25 |
The Big Bang Theory |
TBSC |
3473 |
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending Feb. 5 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
TBSC |
591 |
ADSM* |
541 |
|
2
|
MTV |
532 |
NAN * |
351 |
|
3
|
USA |
519 |
NICK |
312 |
|
4
|
ADSM |
464 |
TBSC |
311 |
|
5
|
CMDY |
418 |
ESPN |
295 |
|
6
|
ESPN |
392 |
MTV |
258 |
|
7
|
HIST |
369 |
USA |
256 |
|
8
|
FX |
355 |
CMDY |
238 |
|
9
|
AEN |
348 |
DSNY |
236 |
|
10
|
FAM |
329 |
FX |
226 |
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending Feb. 5 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
Jersey Shore Season 5 |
MTV |
3200 |
|
2
|
Teen Mom II Season 2 |
MTV |
1943 |
|
3
|
Tosh.O |
CMDY |
1839 |
|
4
|
Pawn Stars |
HIST |
1489 |
|
5
|
The Challenge: Battle of the Exes |
MTV |
1428 |
|
6
|
Pawn Stars |
HIST |
1415 |
|
7
|
WWE Raw |
USA |
1410 |
|
8
|
WWE Raw |
USA |
1396 |
|
9
|
Family Guy |
ADSM |
1296 |
|
10
|
The Game |
BET |
1246 |
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-49
Week Ending Feb. 5 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
USA |
1130 |
ADSM* |
722 |
|
2
|
TBSC |
1051 |
USA |
553 |
|
3
|
HIST |
858 |
TBSC |
526 |
|
4
|
AEN |
746 |
NAN * |
504 |
|
5
|
MTV |
688 |
NICK |
490 |
|
6
|
FX |
682 |
ESPN |
486 |
|
7
|
ESPN |
666 |
HIST |
449 |
|
8
|
ADSM |
658 |
AEN |
409 |
|
9
|
CMDY |
587 |
FX |
408 |
|
10
|
TNT |
570 |
TNT |
398 |
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS
Adults 18-49
Week Ending Feb. 5 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
Jersey Shore Season 5 |
MTV |
4140 |
|
2
|
Pawn Stars |
HIST |
3261 |
|
3
|
Pawn Stars |
HIST |
3172 |
|
4
|
WWE Raw |
USA |
2675 |
|
5
|
WWE Raw |
USA |
2624 |
|
6
|
American Pickers |
HIST |
2606 |
|
7
|
Teen Mom II Season 2 |
MTV |
2543 |
|
8
|
Gold Rush |
DISC |
2480 |
|
9
|
Tosh.O |
CMDY |
2479 |
|
10
|
The Game |
BET |
2072 |
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 25-54
Week Ending Feb. 5 |
|
|
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Rank
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
USA |
1220 |
USA |
581 |
|
2
|
TBSC |
988 |
HIST |
494 |
|
3
|
HIST |
971 |
TNT |
458 |
|
4
|
AEN |
777 |
TBSC |
457 |
|
5
|
FX |
637 |
ADSM* |
434 |
|
6
|
TNT |
627 |
AEN |
424 |
|
7
|
ESPN |
604 |
ESPN |
418 |
|
8
|
DISC |
591 |
NICK |
381 |
|
9
|
SYFY |
590 |
FX |
368 |
|
10
|
FOOD |
579 |
NAN * |
353 |
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS
Adults 25-54
Week Ending Feb. 5 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
Pawn Stars |
HIST |
3647 |
|
2
|
Pawn Stars |
HIST |
3515 |
|
3
|
American Pickers |
HIST |
3049 |
|
4
|
Gold Rush |
DISC |
2783 |
|
5
|
WWE Raw |
USA |
2620 |
|
6
|
Jersey Shore Season 5 |
MTV |
2600 |
|
7
|
WWE Raw |
USA |
2573 |
|
8
|
The Big Bang Theory |
TBSC |
2173 |
|
9
|
Bering Sea Gold |
DISC |
2170 |
|
10
|
The Big Bang Theory |
TBSC |
1913 |
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data |
|
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