If you are what you watch, a look at cable ratings suggests that today’s younger adults are a very cynical bunch.
The shows that score particularly high among adults 18-34 on
ad-supported cable tend to be dark comedies or back-stabbing reality
shows. In general, the characters are either actively vicious or too
stupid to survive the challenges of life.
Are our 18-34s laughing at or with the jerks who populate these shows?
Who knows. But it’s hard to imagine they’re forming the kind of
comfortable emotional bonds that older adults form with the characters
on “Monk” or “NCIS.”
What it does suggest is that the future of TV will look at lot more
like “Sons of Anarchy” and “Family Guy” than “Law & Order” and
“Army Wives.”
Here are some numbers to ponder.
In the week ended
Sept. 20, the most recent for which Nielsen ratings are available, 13
of the top 50 shows among 18-34s were sports and quasi-sports (i.e.,
wrestling and ultimate fighting), which generally appeal across
generations.
Fully 16 of those 37 non-sports shows were episodes of the cynical
“Family Guy,” ranging in popularity from No. 4 to No. 50. Another seven
were episodes of an even blacker Adult Swim comedy, the clay-animation
satire “Robot Chicken” (Nos. 29 to 49).
Adult Swim’s downright depressing (at least to a baby boomer) “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” came in at No. 45.
Among other shows making single appearances on the 18-to-34 list
were three role-model-free reality shows: Bravo’s “Real Housewives of
Atlanta” (No. 14), MTV’s “Real World: Cancun” (No. 17) and E!’s
“Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami” (No. 22).
The only scripted live-action comedies to make the list were FX’s
ironically titled “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” (No. 5) and
reruns of the relatively sunny sitcom “The Office” on TBS (Nos. 38 and
39), which is still too depressing for most viewers when it airs on NBC.
The one scripted drama to make the list was “Sons of Anarchy,” a dark series about a gun-running biker gang, which ranked No. 6.
Also making the list were a Monday rerun of the MTV Video Music
Awards (No. 11), which people probably watched to see Kanye West
embarrass both Taylor Swift and himself, and Spike’s gory historical
documentary “Deadliest Warrior” (No. 48).
There were
only two real exceptions to the general nastiness on the top 50 18-34
list: Bravo’s “Top Chef” (No. 27) and MTV’s “America’s Best Dance Crew”
(No. 37).
***
In cable ratings for the week ended Sept. 20:
Top five networks in primetime (18-49s): ESPN, USA, TBS, FX, TNT.
Top five networks in primetime (total viewers): ESPN, USA, Fox News Channel, A&E, Nick at Nite.
Top movie (18-49s): ABC Family’s “Dirty Dancing” (Saturday, 8 p.m.) 1.27 million.
Top sporting event (total viewers): ESPN’s “Monday Night Football: Bills/Patriots” (Monday, 7 p.m.) 14 million.
Shows making the top 10 among 18-34s, 18-49s and 25-54s:
ESPN’s “Monday Night Football: Bills/Patriots” (Monday, 7 p.m.); ESPN’s
“Monday Night Football: Chargers/Raiders” (Monday, 10:17 p.m.); Spike
TV’s “The Ultimate Fighter” (Wednesday, 10:05 p.m.); USA’s “WWE Raw”
(Monday, 10 p.m.); FX’s “Sons of Anarchy” (Tuesday, 10 p.m.); ESPN’s
“SportsCenter” (Monday, 1:40 a.m.).
Show on the rise:
ESPN’s “Monday Night Football,” Monday 7 p.m. The NFL’s hot start to
the season has carried over to cable. The “MNF” premiere between the
Bills and Patriots averaged 14 million total viewers, up 12 percent
from 12.5 million for the kickoff game last year between the Packers
and Vikings.
Show on the decline:
USA’s “Psych,” Friday 10 p.m. The drama averaged 1.52 million viewers
18-49, down 12 percent from 1.72 million the previous week.
|
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Ranked on Household Rating
Week Ending September 20 |
|
Rank |
Primetime |
Total Day |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
ESPN
|
3346
|
NICK
|
1439
|
|
2
|
USA
|
2507
|
ESPN
|
1310
|
|
3
|
FOXN
|
2002
|
FOXN
|
1165
|
|
4
|
NAN
|
1325
|
USA
|
1162
|
|
5
|
AEN
|
1212
|
NAN
*
|
1072
|
|
6
|
TNT
|
1198
|
ADSM*
|
904
|
|
7
|
TOON
|
1161
|
TNT
|
886
|
|
8
|
TBSC
|
1136
|
TOON
|
832
|
|
9
|
HGTV
|
1052
|
TBSC
|
693
|
|
10
|
LIF
|
1024
|
AEN
|
636
|
|
11
|
FX
|
982
|
LIF
|
578
|
|
12
|
SYFY
|
973
|
HIST
|
549
|
|
13
|
HIST
|
888
|
HGTV
|
548
|
|
14
|
FAM
|
855
|
TRU
|
539
|
|
15
|
SPK
|
850
|
FOOD
|
537
|
|
16
|
MTV
|
796
|
FX
|
515
|
|
17
|
HALL
|
773
|
SPK
|
490
|
|
18
|
TLC
|
769
|
CNN
|
476
|
|
19
|
TRU
|
768
|
DISC
|
466
|
|
20
|
BRAV
|
746
|
MTV
|
462
|
|
21
|
FOOD
|
734
|
TVLD
|
462
|
|
22
|
DISC
|
732
|
HALL
|
456
|
|
23
|
CNN
|
659
|
FAM
|
450
|
|
24
|
AMC
|
658
|
SYFY
|
426
|
|
25
|
MSNB
|
648
|
TLC
|
405
|
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
|
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE PROGRAMS
Ranked on Households
Week Ending September 20 |
|
Rank
|
Program |
Net
|
(000) |
|
1
|
Bills/Patriots
|
ESPN
|
10224
|
|
2
|
Chargers/Raiders
|
ESPN
|
8774
|
|
3
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
3621
|
|
4
|
WWE Raw
|
USA
|
3481
|
|
5
|
Monk
|
USA
|
3374
|
|
6
|
College Football-Thursday Night
|
ESPN
|
3332
|
|
7
|
WWE Raw
|
USA
|
3241
|
|
8
|
The O'Reilly Factor
|
FOXN
|
3123
|
|
9
|
The Penguins Of
Madagascar
|
NICK
|
3049
|
|
10
|
The O'Reilly Factor
|
FOXN
|
2989
|
|
11
|
The O'Reilly Factor
|
FOXN
|
2974
|
|
12
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2906
|
|
13
|
The Ultimate Fighter
|
SPK
|
2889
|
|
14
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
2862
|
|
15
|
College Football-Saturday Prime
|
ESPN
|
2850
|
|
16
|
Project Runway
|
LIF
|
2848
|
|
16
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
2848
|
|
18
|
The O'Reilly Factor
|
FOXN
|
2791
|
|
19
|
The O'Reilly Factor
|
FOXN
|
2768
|
|
20
|
The Penguins Of
Madagascar
|
NICK
|
2747
|
|
21
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
2740
|
|
22
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
2726
|
|
23
|
Glenn Beck
|
FOXN
|
2723
|
|
24
|
iCarly
|
NICK
|
2708
|
|
25
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2671
|
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending September 20 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
ESPN
|
1135
|
ESPN
|
500
|
|
2
|
TBSC
|
521
|
ADSM*
|
452
|
|
3
|
USA
|
513
|
NAN
*
|
302
|
|
4
|
MTV
|
485
|
TBSC
|
293
|
|
5
|
FX
|
428
|
NICK
|
289
|
|
6
|
SPK
|
399
|
MTV
|
276
|
|
7
|
VH1
|
340
|
USA
|
258
|
|
8
|
AEN
|
319
|
TNT
|
233
|
|
9
|
BRAV
|
317
|
FX
|
214
|
|
10
|
FAM
|
314
|
SPK
|
203
|
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending September 20 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
Chargers/Raiders
|
ESPN
|
3900
|
|
2
|
Bills/Patriots
|
ESPN
|
3771
|
|
3
|
The Ultimate Fighter
|
SPK
|
2083
|
|
4
|
Family Guy
|
ADSM
|
1460
|
|
5
|
It's Always Sunny In
Philadelphia
|
FX
|
1416
|
|
6
|
Sons Of Anarchy
|
FX
|
1319
|
|
7
|
Family Guy
|
ADSM
|
1240
|
|
8
|
Family Guy
|
ADSM
|
1234
|
|
9
|
WWE Raw
|
USA
|
1216
|
|
10
|
Sportscenter
|
ESPN
|
1197
|
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-49
Week Ending September 20 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
ESPN
|
2333
|
ESPN
|
957
|
|
2
|
USA
|
1200
|
ADSM*
|
620
|
|
3
|
TBSC
|
899
|
USA
|
575
|
|
4
|
FX
|
785
|
TNT
|
535
|
|
5
|
TNT
|
737
|
TBSC
|
529
|
|
6
|
AEN
|
711
|
NAN
*
|
487
|
|
7
|
SPK
|
710
|
NICK
|
464
|
|
8
|
MTV
|
657
|
FX
|
392
|
|
9
|
SYFY
|
643
|
MTV
|
362
|
|
10
|
BRAV
|
631
|
AEN
|
361
|
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS
Adults 18-49
Week Ending September 20 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
Bills/Patriots
|
ESPN
|
7739
|
|
2
|
Chargers/Raiders
|
ESPN
|
7535
|
|
3
|
The Ultimate Fighter
|
SPK
|
3243
|
|
4
|
WWE Raw
|
USA
|
2570
|
|
5
|
Sons Of Anarchy
|
FX
|
2461
|
|
6
|
WWE Raw
|
USA
|
2312
|
|
7
|
College Football-Thursday Night
|
ESPN
|
2222
|
|
8
|
Sportscenter
|
ESPN
|
2195
|
|
9
|
The Real Housewives Of
Atlanta
|
BRAV
|
2193
|
|
10
|
Project Runway
|
LIF
|
2144
|
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 25-54
Week Ending September 20 |
|
|
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Rank
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
ESPN
|
2306
|
ESPN
|
883
|
|
2
|
USA
|
1407
|
USA
|
613
|
|
3
|
AEN
|
776
|
TNT
|
541
|
|
4
|
TNT
|
773
|
TBSC
|
458
|
|
5
|
TBSC
|
757
|
ADSM*
|
406
|
|
6
|
SYFY
|
714
|
NAN
*
|
395
|
|
7
|
FOXN
|
686
|
AEN
|
382
|
|
8
|
FX
|
682
|
NICK
|
379
|
|
9
|
SPK
|
637
|
FOXN
|
377
|
|
10
|
BRAV
|
612
|
FX
|
343
|
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS
Adults 25-54
Week Ending September 20 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
Bills/Patriots
|
ESPN
|
7408
|
|
2
|
Chargers/Raiders
|
ESPN
|
7014
|
|
3
|
The Ultimate Fighter
|
SPK
|
2558
|
|
4
|
WWE Raw
|
USA
|
2546
|
|
5
|
WWE Raw
|
USA
|
2367
|
|
6
|
Sons Of Anarchy
|
FX
|
2314
|
|
7
|
College Football-Thursday Night
|
ESPN
|
2223
|
|
8
|
Project Runway
|
LIF
|
2109
|
|
9
|
Sportscenter
|
ESPN
|
2032
|
|
10
|
College Football-Saturday Prime
|
ESPN
|
2025
|
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
