| medialifemagazine.com Cable recap
Even without "Runway," its ratings are up smartly. In the week that “Project Runway” made its season six premiere on Lifetime, Bravo actually ranked higher in primetime than it did the week that “Project Runway” had its season five premiere on Bravo itself last July. That week, Bravo averaged 761,000 total viewers in primetime, ranking it No. 25 among ad-supported cable channels. The increase was more striking in the important adults 18-49 demographic. That figure rose from 447,000 viewers, ranking it 18th on ad-supported cable, to 616,000, boosting it to 11th place, an increase of nearly 38 percent. And among 18-34s, it went from 236,000, putting it at No. 14, to 314,000, pushing it up to No. 10, for an increase of 33 percent Surprisingly, Bravo achieved those increases without any of its programs cracking the top 50 among total cable viewers. Among its standouts last week were “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” which came in at No. 94 in total viewers among basic-cable viewers but No. 9 in ad-supported cable among 18-49s; the season premiere of “Top Chef” (No. 155 and No. 12, respectively); and the season finale of “Top Chef Masters” (No. 215 and No. 14). Those shows suggest the secret of Bravo’s success: creating hip reality shows that skew toward younger viewers and can be spun off or knocked off into a franchise. “Top Chef” is the channel’s most successful variant on the “Project Runway” formula (skilled practitioners of glamorous crafts compete for judges’ approval). Others have included “Top Design” (interior decoration) and “Shear Genius” (hair styling). “Real Housewives of Atlanta” is the third version of a reality franchise that has also examined the lives of prosperous women living in New Jersey, New York and Orange County, Calif. Another Bravo genre, reality shows examining the lives of high-profile workaholics with intriguing careers, was exemplified last week by the real-estate-themed “Flipping Out,” which drew a respectable 1.03 million viewers in its season premiere on Tuesday. (Ratings for a similar Bravo series, “The Rachel Zoe Project,” which had its season premiere on Monday of this week, were unavailable at press time.) Bravo, which had a rocky start in 1980 when it launched as a movie and performance-arts channel, hasn’t always been as skilled at exploiting its hits. In 2003, the reality show “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” transformed the channel’s image in the eyes of viewers and the media, but its spinoff, “Queer Eye for the Straight Girl,” was a flop. In the ratings, you’re either in or you’re out. Despite taking a hit, Bravo is still in. See "'Runway' struts to a record for Lifetime" ***
In cable ratings for the week ended Aug. 23:
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Rank
Primetime
Total Day
Net
(000)
Net
(000)
1
2545
NICK
1696
2
ESPN
1954
1261
3
TNT
1922
1256
4
FOXN
1736
TNT
1042
5
1461
FOXN
996
6
LIF
1279
ADSM*
955
7
TBSC
1240
TOON
875
8
HGTV
1150
ESPN
823
9
AEN
1105
TBSC
761
10
FAM
959
LIF
662
11
SYFY
955
AEN
603
12
FX
892
FOOD
584
13
TOON
885
HGTV
582
14
FOOD
884
TRU
565
15
HIST
873
FX
555
16
TLC
860
DISC
536
17
AMC
844
HIST
536
18
TRU
839
FAM
509
19
DISC
836
HALL
490
20
HALL
784
SPK
479
21
BRAV
752
AMC
473
22
CMDY
651
TLC
455
23
ESP2
650
TVLD
428
24
MSNB
641
SYFY
423
25
SPK
639
CMDY
403
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
© 2010 Media Life |
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