Fang-tastic
summer for 'True Blood'
HBO vampire series hits a series high against Emmys
By Toni Fitzgerald
Sep 1, 2010
HBO's "True Blood" didn't win any major awards at this year's Emmys but Sunday night was anything but a loss.
Despite airing against its toughest competition of the summer, the primetime Emmy awards, the pay cable network's vampire drama scored a new series high.
"Blood" averaged 5.4 million total viewers, up from a previous series high of 5.3 million earlier this summer. Another 1.2 million tuned in for the 11:30 p.m. rerun of the show, according to Nielsen.
"Blood" also boosted lead-outs "Hung" (2.5 million) and "Entourage" (a season-high 2.9 million).
That series high aired opposite the Emmy awards, which drew the summer's biggest audience to date, 13.5 million total viewers, and featured newlyweds/series stars Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer as presenters.
The show has been doing well all summer, but over the past two weeks "Blood" fever has reached a pitch.
A couple weeks ago, Paquin, Moyer and Alexander Skarsgard posed nude on the cover of Rolling Stone, covered in spatters of blood and positioned suggestively against one another.
The cover caused a huge stir, as you might expect, and then just a few days later Paquin and Moyer wed in a much-talked about ceremony that dominated internet searches for days.
All the extra publicity no doubt gave the show a bump over the past two episodes, and it merely cemented "True Blood's" status as the top new show on HBO since "The Sopranos" left the air three years ago.
Sunday's "Blood" scored the best viewership since the "Sopranos" finale, and it's arguably HBO's biggest hit ever online, where fans click on anything related to the vampire soap.
The Sept. 12 third-season finale could hit the show's best numbers yet, as spoilers and previews have been floating around the web for days.
***
In cable ratings for the week ended Aug. 29:
Top five networks in primetime (18-49s): USA, ESPN, TNT, TBS, History.
Top five networks in primetime (total viewers): USA, TNT, ESPN, Nick at Nite, Fox News Channel.
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.) 2.86 million; 2. Fox News Channel's "The O’Reilly Factor" (Wednesday, 8 p.m.) 2.6 million; 3. Fox News Channel's "The O’Reilly Factor" (Tuesday, 8 p.m.) 2.52 million; 4. Fox News Channel's "The O’Reilly Factor" (Thursday, 8 p.m.) 2.5 million, Fox News Channel's "Glenn Beck" (Monday, 5 p.m.) 2.5 million.
Top movie (18-49s): No movie during the week made the top 50 programs among 18-49s.
Top sporting event (total viewers): ESPN's "NFL Football: Colts/Packers" (Thursday, 8 p.m.) 5.73 million.
Shows making the top 10 among 18-34s, 18-49s and 25-54s: MTV's "Jersey Shore" (Thursday, 10 p.m.); Bravo's "Real Housewives of New Jersey" (Monday, 10 p.m.); USA's "Burn Notice" (Thursday, 9 p.m.); ESPN's "NFL Football: Colts/Packers" (Thursday, 8 p.m.); ESPN's "Monday Night Football" (Monday, 8 p.m.).
Show on the rise: MTV's "The Real World" Wednesday 10 p.m. The reality staple averaged 1.42 million viewers 18-34, up 18 percent from 1.2 million the previous week.
Show on the decline: E!'s "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" Sunday 10 p.m. In the second week of the new season the program averaged 2.55 million viewers 18-49, good for No. 4 for the week in the demo but off 23 percent from 3.31 million the week before.
|
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Ranked on Household Rating
Week Ending Aug. 29 |
|
Rank |
Primetime |
Total Day |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
USA
|
2407
|
NICK
|
1572
|
|
2
|
TNT
|
1866
|
NAN
*
|
1311
|
|
3
|
ESPN
|
1794
|
TNT
|
1095
|
|
4
|
FOXN
|
1360
|
USA
|
1088
|
|
5
|
NAN
|
1354
|
ADSM*
|
954
|
|
6
|
HIST
|
1271
|
TOON
|
863
|
|
7
|
LIF
|
1141
|
FOXN
|
853
|
|
8
|
AEN
|
1095
|
ESPN
|
783
|
|
9
|
HGTV
|
1094
|
HIST
|
750
|
|
10
|
TBSC
|
1072
|
TBSC
|
656
|
|
11
|
TOON
|
997
|
TRU
|
611
|
|
12
|
SYFY
|
991
|
AEN
|
606
|
|
13
|
FX
|
907
|
HGTV
|
606
|
|
14
|
DISC
|
866
|
LIF
|
581
|
|
15
|
TRU
|
866
|
FOOD
|
541
|
|
16
|
FAM
|
850
|
FX
|
538
|
|
17
|
MTV
|
848
|
DISC
|
522
|
|
18
|
TLC
|
822
|
MTV
|
502
|
|
19
|
AMC
|
821
|
AMC
|
470
|
|
20
|
FOOD
|
805
|
FAM
|
462
|
|
21
|
CMDY
|
767
|
CMDY
|
460
|
|
22
|
BRAV
|
752
|
SYFY
|
457
|
|
23
|
HALL
|
731
|
TVLD
|
445
|
|
24
|
TVLD
|
664
|
TLC
|
421
|
|
25
|
SPK
|
572
|
HALL
|
412
|
|
* 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 Households
Week Ending Aug. 29 |
|
Rank
|
Program |
Net
|
(000) |
|
1
|
The Closer
|
TNT
|
5309
|
|
2
|
Rizzoli & Isles
|
TNT
|
5151
|
|
3
|
Burn Notice
|
USA
|
4295
|
|
4
|
Royal Pains
|
USA
|
4214
|
|
5
|
Covert Affairs
|
USA
|
4167
|
|
6
|
Jersey
Shore
2
|
MTV
|
4152
|
|
7
|
Colts/Packers
|
ESPN
|
4148
|
|
8
|
Cardinals/Titans
|
ESPN
|
3853
|
|
9
|
White Collar
|
USA
|
3365
|
|
10
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
3321
|
|
11
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
3106
|
|
12
|
Memphis
Beat
|
TNT
|
2981
|
|
13
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
2962
|
|
14
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
2925
|
|
15
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
2918
|
|
16
|
Keeping Up With the Kardashians
|
EN
|
2755
|
|
17
|
Hawthorne
|
TNT
|
2692
|
|
18
|
Real Housewives of
New Jersey
|
BRAV
|
2671
|
|
19
|
Victorious
|
NICK
|
2670
|
|
20
|
Psych
|
USA
|
2639
|
|
21
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2606
|
|
22
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2568
|
|
23
|
Project Runway
|
LIF
|
2556
|
|
24
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2529
|
|
25
|
American Pickers
|
HIST
|
2511
|
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending Aug. 29 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
TBSC
|
529
|
ADSM*
|
464
|
|
1
|
USA
|
597
|
ADSM*
|
456
|
|
2
|
MTV
|
528
|
NAN
*
|
353
|
|
3
|
ESPN
|
511
|
NICK
|
338
|
|
4
|
CMDY
|
479
|
ESPN
|
279
|
|
5
|
TBSC
|
452
|
USA
|
271
|
|
6
|
FX
|
342
|
MTV
|
266
|
|
7
|
TNT
|
333
|
CMDY
|
265
|
|
8
|
FAM
|
329
|
TBSC
|
260
|
|
9
|
NAN
|
320
|
FX
|
212
|
|
10
|
HIST
|
317
|
TNT
|
210
|
|
* 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 Aug. 29 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
Jersey
Shore
2
|
MTV
|
3105
|
|
2
|
Keeping Up With the Kardashians
|
EN
|
1717
|
|
3
|
Real World XXIV
|
MTV
|
1417
|
|
4
|
Family Guy
|
ADSM
|
1331
|
|
5
|
Family Guy
|
ADSM
|
1321
|
|
6
|
Burn Notice
|
USA
|
1271
|
|
7
|
Colts/Packers
|
ESPN
|
1262
|
|
8
|
Tosh.O
|
CMDY
|
1248
|
|
9
|
Family Guy
|
ADSM
|
1218
|
|
10
|
Real Housewives of
New Jersey
|
BRAV
|
1200
|
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-49
Week Ending Aug. 29 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
USA
|
1287
|
ADSM*
|
657
|
|
2
|
ESPN
|
1108
|
NAN
*
|
626
|
|
3
|
TNT
|
883
|
USA
|
563
|
|
4
|
TBSC
|
846
|
TNT
|
550
|
|
5
|
HIST
|
774
|
NICK
|
541
|
|
6
|
CMDY
|
696
|
ESPN
|
531
|
|
7
|
AEN
|
692
|
TBSC
|
483
|
|
8
|
MTV
|
665
|
HIST
|
456
|
|
9
|
LIF
|
655
|
CMDY
|
381
|
|
10
|
FX
|
624
|
AEN
|
366
|
|
* 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 Aug. 29 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
Jersey
Shore
2
|
MTV
|
3979
|
|
2
|
Colts/Packers
|
ESPN
|
2748
|
|
3
|
Burn Notice
|
USA
|
2696
|
|
4
|
Keeping Up With the Kardashians
|
EN
|
2552
|
|
5
|
Covert Affairs
|
USA
|
2458
|
|
6
|
Cardinals/Titans
|
ESPN
|
2399
|
|
7
|
Royal Pains
|
USA
|
2386
|
|
8
|
WWE Raw
|
USA
|
2361
|
|
9
|
Real Housewives of
New Jersey
|
BRAV
|
2267
|
|
10
|
WWE Raw
|
USA
|
2135
|
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 25-54
Week Ending Aug. 29 |
|
|
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Rank
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
USA
|
1367
|
TNT
|
605
|
|
2
|
ESPN
|
1162
|
USA
|
579
|
|
3
|
TNT
|
1010
|
NAN
*
|
522
|
|
4
|
HIST
|
872
|
ESPN
|
489
|
|
5
|
TBSC
|
766
|
HIST
|
486
|
|
6
|
AEN
|
731
|
TBSC
|
438
|
|
7
|
LIF
|
714
|
ADSM*
|
420
|
|
8
|
SYFY
|
631
|
NICK
|
415
|
|
9
|
DISC
|
595
|
AEN
|
388
|
|
10
|
BRAV
|
589
|
TRU
|
386
|
|
* 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 Aug. 29 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
Colts/Packers
|
ESPN
|
2962
|
|
2
|
Burn Notice
|
USA
|
2776
|
|
3
|
Royal Pains
|
USA
|
2677
|
|
4
|
Covert Affairs
|
USA
|
2661
|
|
5
|
Cardinals/Titans
|
ESPN
|
2522
|
|
6
|
Rizzoli & Isles
|
TNT
|
2506
|
|
7
|
The Closer
|
TNT
|
2442
|
|
8
|
Jersey
Shore
2
|
MTV
|
2377
|
|
9
|
WWE Raw
|
USA
|
2350
|
|
10
|
Real Housewives of
New Jersey
|
BRAV
|
2219
|
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data
|
|
|
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