New series 'Celebrity Ghost Stories' sets a record
By Tom Conroy Oct 28, 2009
At first glance, the connection might not be obvious: biography and ghosts. But of course it makes perfect sense. Biography is mostly about dead people, and ghosts are certainly dead people.
And it appears it makes even better sense ratings-wise.
In shifting its focus away from the greats of history--Winston Churchill and his crowd--to more sensational if slightly less believable journeys into the land of the dead and otherwise unredeemed, the Bio channel has gotten a boost in the ratings.
Never mind that some critics have been brutal.
Case in point: “Celebrity Ghost Stories,” which premiered on Saturday, Oct. 3, is now the highest-rated series in the channel’s history. Its debut averaged 392,000 total viewers.
In the series, such famous or formerly famous people as Scott Baio, C. Thomas Howell, Joan Rivers and Tom Arnold narrate filmed reenactments of their experiences with the paranormal, with lesser-known actors playing the celebrities.
The combination of B-listers and boos has lifted viewership for the channel as a whole.
Ratings are up sharply this month as compared to last October.
Total viewers in primetime are up 13 percent (from 149,000 to 169,000); viewers 18-49 are up 33 percent (from 61,000 to 81,000); and viewers 18-34 are up 43 percent (from 17,000 to 24,000), according to Nielsen.
In this case, it’s appropriate that one series could have such a huge effect because the channel itself was based on a single show. The Biography Channel, as it was then known, was spun off by A&E in 1999 as a showcase for its Emmy-winning series “Biography.”
But like the former Arts & Entertainment channel, Bio has shifted its focus increasingly toward rather sensationalistic reality programming. Among the channel’s highest-rated series last week were “Extreme Paranormal,” “Haunted History,” “Ghostly Encounters,” “Crime Stories” and “American Gangster.”
While this change in focus has increased viewership, it hasn’t won over critics.
When “Celebrity Ghost Stories” debuted, the reviewer for Variety wrote, “On the scale of embarrassing celebrity-themed programs, this one probably ranks somewhere above ‘Celebrity Fit Club’ and below ‘Celebrity Rehab.’ ”
In a mock promotion of the show on “Saturday Night Live,” the narrator said, “The Biography Channel presents a series that anyone could have thought up—but we did.”
***
In cable ratings for the week ended Oct. 25:
Top five networks in primetime (18-49s): ESPN, TBS, USA, FX, TNT.
Top five networks in primetime (total viewers): ESPN, USA, TBS, Fox News Channel, Nick at Nite.
Top movie (18-49s): TNT’s “Gladiator” (Sunday, 8 p.m.) 1.52 million.
Top sporting event (total viewers): ESPN’s “Monday Night Football: Broncos/Chargers” (Monday, 8:30 p.m.) 13.47 million.
Shows making the top 10 among 18-34s, 18-49s and 25-54s: ESPN’s “Monday Night Football: Broncos/Chargers” (Monday, 8:30 p.m.); FX’s “Sons of Anarchy” (Tuesday, 10 p.m.); TBS’s “NLCS: Phillies/Dodgers Game 5” (Wednesday, 8 p.m.); Comedy Central’s “Jeff Dunham Show” (Thursday, 9 p.m.)
Show on the rise: FX’s “Sons of Anarchy,” Tuesday 10 p.m. The drama jumped 24 percent week to week among viewers 18-34, from 1.15 million to 1.43 million.
Show on the decline: TLC’s “Jon & Kate Plus 8,” Monday 9 p.m. The reality series dropped to 1.97 million total viewers, off 22 percent from 2.54 million the previous week.
25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS Ranked on Household Rating
Week Ending October 25
Rank
Primetime
Total Day
Net
(000)
Net
(000)
1
ESPN
2571
NICK
1510
2
USA
2503
USA
1180
3
TBSC
2080
NAN *
1158
4
FOXN
1684
FOXN
1023
5
NAN
1346
ESPN
1015
6
TNT
1212
TBSC
896
7
AEN
1146
ADSM*
845
8
TOON
1079
TNT
845
9
HGTV
1008
TOON
840
10
SYFY
1005
AEN
692
11
FX
961
FOOD
598
12
FAM
901
HGTV
587
13
FOOD
898
TRU
577
14
CMDY
879
LIF
550
15
DISC
874
HIST
544
16
TLC
814
DISC
536
17
HIST
799
FX
530
18
TRU
782
SYFY
521
19
SPK
780
FAM
517
20
LIF
777
SPK
501
21
HALL
744
CMDY
459
22
BRAV
714
HALL
439
23
AMC
636
TLC
428
24
MTV
634
TVLD
415
25
BET
571
CNN
403
* 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 October 25
Rank
Program
Net
(000)
1
Broncos vs. Chargers
ESPN
9536
2
NLCS Dodgers vs. Phillies 5
TBSC
5715
3
White Collar
USA
4036
4
NLCS Dodgers vs. Phillies 4
TBSC
3941
5
NCIS
USA
3939
6
College Football-Saturday Prime
ESPN
3930
7
Monk
USA
3818
8
The Penguins Of
Madagascar
NICK
3623
9
Spongebob
NICK
3611
10
Jeff Dunham Show
CMDY
3500
11
NCIS
USA
3497
12
WWE Entertainment
USA
3454
13
NCIS
USA
3274
14
Spongebob
NICK
3221
15
WWE Entertainment
USA
3149
16
Spongebob
NICK
3112
17
NCIS
USA
2920
18
The Penguins Of
Madagascar
NICK
2887
19
NCIS
USA
2867
20
NCIS
USA
2833
21
The Penguins Of
Madagascar
NICK
2828
22
NCIS
USA
2818
23
The O'Reilly Factor
FOXN
2758
24
NCIS
USA
2752
25
Spongebob
NICK
2739
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS Adults 18-34
Week Ending October 25
Rank
PRIME TIME
TOTAL DAY
Net
(000)
Net
(000)
1
ESPN
791
ADSM*
414
2
TBSC
746
ESPN
351
3
USA
559
TBSC
347
4
CMDY
442
NICK
329
5
FX
404
NAN *
314
6
MTV
389
USA
247
7
FAM
359
CMDY
224
8
SPK
329
MTV
218
9
DISC
307
FX
214
10
SYFY
301
FAM
204
* 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 October 25
Rank
PROGRAM
NET
(000)
1
Broncos vs. Chargers
ESPN
3566
2
NLCS Dodgers vs. Phillies 5
TBSC
1558
3
Sons Of Anarchy
FX
1429
4
SouthPark
CMDY
1371
5
Jeff Dunham Show
CMDY
1284
6
Family Guy
ADSM
1282
7
The Ultimate Fighter
SPK
1267
8
Family Guy
ADSM
1205
9
Family Guy
ADSM
1155
10
Family Guy
ADSM
1153
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS Adults 18-49 Week Ending October 25
Rank
PRIME TIME
TOTAL DAY
Net
(000)
Net
(000)
1
ESPN
1730
ESPN
699
2
TBSC
1441
TBSC
642
3
USA
1261
ADSM*
594
4
FX
783
USA
580
5
TNT
706
NAN *
560
6
CMDY
700
NICK
524
7
SYFY
689
TNT
481
8
AEN
667
FX
398
9
FAM
647
AEN
397
10
DISC
640
DISC
364
* 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 October 25
Rank
PROGRAM
NET
(000)
1
Broncos vs. Chargers
ESPN
7223
2
NLCS Dodgers vs. Phillies 5
TBSC
3425
3
Jeff Dunham Show
CMDY
2952
4
Sons Of Anarchy
FX
2692
5
College Football-Saturday Prime
ESPN
2609
6
NLCS Dodgers vs. Phillies 4
TBSC
2340
7
WWE Entertainment
USA
2228
8
WWE Entertainment
USA
2130
9
The Ultimate Fighter
SPK
2111
10
The Real Housewives Of
Atlanta
BRAV
2047
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS Adults 25-54
Week Ending October 25
PRIME TIME
TOTAL DAY
Rank
Net
(000)
Net
(000)
1
ESPN
1770
ESPN
660
2
USA
1388
USA
628
3
TBSC
1331
TBSC
574
4
SYFY
763
TNT
506
5
TNT
755
NAN *
466
6
FX
716
NICK
423
7
AEN
708
AEN
414
8
FOOD
656
ADSM*
405
9
DISC
623
TRU
368
10
FOXN
583
SYFY
366
* 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 October 25
Rank
PROGRAM
NET
(000)
1
Broncos vs. Chargers
ESPN
7239
2
NLCS Dodgers vs. Phillies 5
TBSC
3468
3
Jeff Dunham Show
CMDY
2757
4
College Football-Saturday Prime
ESPN
2631
5
Sons Of Anarchy
FX
2470
6
NLCS Dodgers vs. Phillies 4
TBSC
2432
7
WWE Entertainment
USA
2236
8
Monk
USA
2210
9
White Collar
USA
2192
10
The Real Housewives Of
Atlanta
BRAV
2075
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
