It's often the case that a show that moves from broadcast to cable finds a second life in reruns.
Then there's the case of "Everybody Hates Chris." It's not only found a second life on Nick at Night, it appears to found a whole new life.
Nick began airing "Chris” on Monday, Sept. 7, Labor Day, generally a low-rated night. Yet the two airings still drew impressive numbers, drawing 1.81 million viewers at 10:30 and 1.79 million at 10.
That was up 25 percent in 18-to-49-year-old viewers over the shows airing in the same time period a year ago, according to Nick, and it was the channel’s best live-action series premiere since “Home Improvement” in 2007.
But perhaps even more impressive, those reruns bettered the ratings of original episodes of "Chris" on its final season on the CW. Last year, airing on Friday at 8 p.m., "Chris" averaged 1.68 million viewers.
"Chris" lost none of its momentum in its first week on Nick. Airing double episodes in the 10 p.m. hour, it averaged 1.831 million viewers. The two Saturday episodes scored the highest, with audiences of 2.54 million at 10 and 2.4 million at 10:30.
These numbers reflect the general evolution of cable television: Whereas cable channels once succeeded by building concentrated niche audiences that were negligible by the old Big Three network standards, they now can attract competitive audiences with shows like "Chris" with far broader appeal by scheduling them in blocks with similar shows.
Though "Chris" debuted to hefty numbers in 2005, an audience of 7.6 million viewers, airing on the old UPN, it got lost in the shuffle when the CW emerged the following year from what had been UPN and the WB as the new network increasingly shifted its focus toward young women with such series as “Gossip Girl” and “90210.”
"Chris” was eventually shuffled off to Fridays with another African-American-oriented sitcom, “The Game,” and reruns of “America's Next Top Model.”
By contrast, on Nick, "Chris" is central to its primetime strategy, from Sunday to Thursday airing in the last hour of a block of moderately edgy but family-oriented network-sitcom reruns that begins with “Malcolm in the Middle” and continues with “The George Lopez Show.” Viewers know they can flip to Nick at most hours of primetime and find either a show they’ve grown to like or one that is similar enough to keep them engaged.
What those three Nick sitcoms also have in common is that, unlike syndication powerhouses like “Everybody Loves Raymond” and “Seinfeld,” they were never that popular during their broadcast runs. There’s a good chance that the average Nick viewer is viewing an episode for the first time.
As NBC used to say during summer reruns, “If you haven't seen it,
it’s new to you.”
***
In cable ratings for the week ended Sept. 13:
Top five networks in primetime (18-49s): ESPN, USA, MTV, TBS, TNT.
Top five networks in primetime (total viewers): ESPN, USA, Fox News Channel, TNT, ESPN2.
Top movie (18-49s): FX’s “Ghost Rider” (Tuesday, 7:29 p.m.) 1.65 million.
Top sporting event (total viewers): ESPN’s “College Football-Saturday Prime” (Saturday, 7:50 p.m.) 10.59 million.
Shows making the top 10 among 18-34s, 18-49s and 25-54s: MTV’s “2009 Video Music Awards” (Sunday, 9 p.m.); MTV’s “2009 VMA Postshow” (Sunday, 11:31 p.m.); ESPN’s “College Football: Miami/Florida State” (Monday, 8 p.m.); FX’s “Sons of Anarchy” (Tuesday, 10 p.m.); ESPN’s “College Football-Saturday Prime” (Saturday, 7:50 p.m.).
Show on the rise: Cartoon Network’s “Scooby Doo Mystery Begins,” Sunday 7 p.m. The movie was the most-watched telecast in the network’s history with 6.11 million total viewers, and also set network records among kids 2-11, kids 6-11, kids 9-14, boys 2-11 and boys 6-11.
Show on the decline: Syfy’s “Ghost Hunters,” Wednesday 9 p.m. The series slipped 15 percent among 25-54s, from 1.91 million viewers to 1.63 million.
|
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Ranked on Household Rating
Week Ending September 13 |
|
Rank |
Primetime |
Total Day |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
ESPN
|
2790
|
NICK
|
1674
|
|
2
|
USA
|
2442
|
USA
|
1233
|
|
3
|
FOXN
|
1998
|
ESPN
|
1161
|
|
4
|
TNT
|
1572
|
NAN
*
|
1123
|
|
5
|
ESP2
|
1448
|
FOXN
|
1120
|
|
6
|
NAN
|
1340
|
TNT
|
1009
|
|
7
|
AEN
|
1240
|
ADSM*
|
936
|
|
8
|
HGTV
|
1238
|
TOON
|
922
|
|
9
|
TOON
|
1223
|
AEN
|
710
|
|
10
|
TBSC
|
1204
|
TBSC
|
686
|
|
11
|
FX
|
1203
|
HIST
|
671
|
|
12
|
MTV
|
1166
|
FX
|
643
|
|
13
|
HIST
|
1119
|
LIF
|
626
|
|
14
|
LIF
|
1035
|
HGTV
|
605
|
|
15
|
SYFY
|
994
|
FOOD
|
580
|
|
16
|
FAM
|
890
|
TRU
|
554
|
|
17
|
FOOD
|
865
|
ESP2
|
548
|
|
18
|
HALL
|
842
|
DISC
|
534
|
|
19
|
DISC
|
824
|
MTV
|
528
|
|
20
|
TLC
|
808
|
HALL
|
511
|
|
21
|
AMC
|
758
|
TVLD
|
484
|
|
22
|
MSNB
|
752
|
CNN
|
477
|
|
23
|
BRAV
|
715
|
FAM
|
470
|
|
24
|
CNN
|
710
|
AMC
|
458
|
|
25
|
CMDY
|
696
|
SYFY
|
456
|
|
* 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 13 |
|
Rank
|
Program |
Net
|
(000) |
|
1
|
College Football-Saturday Prime
|
ESPN
|
7243
|
|
2
|
2009 Video Music Awards
|
MTV
|
5830
|
|
3
|
Miami/Florida State
|
ESPN
|
5820
|
|
4
|
iCarly
|
NICK
|
4981
|
|
5
|
2009 VMA Postshow
|
MTV
|
4956
|
|
6
|
Scooby Doo Mystery Begins
|
TOON
|
3903
|
|
7
|
WWE Raw
|
USA
|
3824
|
|
8
|
The O'Reilly Factor
|
FOXN
|
3767
|
|
9
|
WWE Raw
|
USA
|
3753
|
|
10
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
3423
|
|
11
|
Monk
|
USA
|
3410
|
|
12
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
3286
|
|
13
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
3223
|
|
14
|
Army Wives
|
LIF
|
3217
|
|
15
|
President Address To Congress
|
FOXN
|
3213
|
|
16
|
Sons Of Anarchy
|
FX
|
3087
|
|
17
|
iCarly
|
NICK
|
3082
|
|
18
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
3012
|
|
19
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2983
|
|
20
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2976
|
|
21
|
College Football Tonight Scoreboard
|
ESPN
|
2952
|
|
22
|
The O'Reilly Factor
|
FOXN
|
2949
|
|
23
|
Sportscenter Late
|
ESPN
|
2938
|
|
24
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2928
|
|
25
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2925
|
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending September 13 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
ESPN
|
905
|
ADSM*
|
468
|
|
2
|
MTV
|
795
|
ESPN
|
431
|
|
3
|
TBSC
|
551
|
NICK
|
352
|
|
4
|
USA
|
541
|
MTV
|
332
|
|
5
|
FX
|
460
|
NAN
*
|
318
|
|
6
|
TNT
|
392
|
TBSC
|
306
|
|
7
|
FAM
|
330
|
TNT
|
262
|
|
8
|
AEN
|
327
|
USA
|
260
|
|
9
|
CMDY
|
298
|
FX
|
256
|
|
10
|
DISC
|
293
|
CMDY
|
194
|
|
* 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 13 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
2009 Video Music Awards
|
MTV
|
4297
|
|
2
|
2009 VMA Postshow
|
MTV
|
3750
|
|
3
|
College Football-Saturday Prime
|
ESPN
|
2513
|
|
4
|
Miami/Florida State
|
ESPN
|
2087
|
|
5
|
2009 VMA Preshow
|
MTV
|
1886
|
|
6
|
Sons Of Anarchy
|
FX
|
1625
|
|
7
|
Family Guy
|
ADSM
|
1617
|
|
8
|
2009 Video Music Awards
|
MTV
|
1569
|
|
9
|
Real World XXII
|
MTV
|
1458
|
|
10
|
Family Guy
|
TBSC
|
1428
|
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-49
Week Ending September 13 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
ESPN
|
1865
|
ESPN
|
818
|
|
2
|
USA
|
1254
|
ADSM*
|
641
|
|
3
|
MTV
|
1093
|
TNT
|
610
|
|
4
|
TBSC
|
987
|
USA
|
607
|
|
5
|
TNT
|
947
|
NICK
|
554
|
|
6
|
FX
|
898
|
TBSC
|
534
|
|
7
|
ESP2
|
739
|
NAN
*
|
525
|
|
8
|
AEN
|
738
|
FX
|
475
|
|
9
|
HIST
|
716
|
MTV
|
443
|
|
10
|
DISC
|
604
|
HIST
|
412
|
|
* 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 13 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
2009 Video Music Awards
|
MTV
|
6098
|
|
2
|
College Football-Saturday Prime
|
ESPN
|
5281
|
|
3
|
2009 VMA Postshow
|
MTV
|
5240
|
|
4
|
Miami/Florida State
|
ESPN
|
4131
|
|
5
|
Sons Of Anarchy
|
FX
|
3028
|
|
6
|
WWE Raw
|
USA
|
2825
|
|
7
|
WWE Raw
|
USA
|
2762
|
|
8
|
2009 VMA Preshow
|
MTV
|
2634
|
|
9
|
Sportscenter Late
|
ESPN
|
2367
|
|
10
|
The Real Housewives Of
Atlanta
|
BRAV
|
2318
|
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 25-54
Week Ending September 13 |
|
|
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Rank
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
ESPN
|
1888
|
ESPN
|
761
|
|
2
|
USA
|
1452
|
USA
|
687
|
|
3
|
TNT
|
1028
|
TNT
|
630
|
|
4
|
ESP2
|
877
|
TBSC
|
452
|
|
5
|
FX
|
850
|
NICK
|
447
|
|
6
|
TBSC
|
829
|
NAN
*
|
439
|
|
7
|
AEN
|
787
|
FX
|
434
|
|
8
|
HIST
|
775
|
ADSM*
|
432
|
|
9
|
MTV
|
742
|
HIST
|
430
|
|
10
|
FOXN
|
713
|
AEN
|
420
|
|
* 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 13 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
College Football-Saturday Prime
|
ESPN
|
5346
|
|
2
|
2009 Video Music Awards
|
MTV
|
4286
|
|
3
|
Miami/Florida State
|
ESPN
|
4112
|
|
4
|
2009 VMA Postshow
|
MTV
|
3670
|
|
5
|
Sons Of Anarchy
|
FX
|
2860
|
|
6
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2855
|
|
7
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2816
|
|
8
|
Sportscenter Late
|
ESPN
|
2195
|
|
9
|
College Football Tonight Scoreboard
|
ESPN
|
2080
|
|
10
|
Monk
|
USA
|
2001
|
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
