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| Cable recap | |
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| Cable recap | |
take Manhattan, too Critics' fave 'Mad Men' returns to big numbers Aug 19, 2009
But not lagging that far behind in buzz, if to far less critical rapture, was “Khloe and Kourtney Take Miami,” which had its series debut on E!, also at 10 p.m. And as it turns out, there was surprise winner in the ratings battle between the Drapers of New York and the Kardashians of Miami. It wasn't high-brow drama. According to Nielsen, “Mad Men” drew 2.769 million viewers from 10 to 10:54 p.m., a series high that was also up 33 percent over season two’s premiere episode. Yet the Emmy-winning series just edged out “Khloe and Kourtney Take Miami,” which drew 2.668 million viewers from 10 to 10:45 p.m. That was E!’s biggest audience for a series since a 2002 episode of “The Anna Nicole Show.” For the week, “Mad Men” ranked 146th in total viewers on basic cable; “Kourtney and Khloe” ranked 164th. But the Miamians pulled ahead of the New Yorkers when both channels re-ran their episodes in the 11 p.m. hour. “Mad Men” had 879,000 viewers from 11 p.m. to 12:02 a.m., while “Kourtney and Khloe” had 1.139 million from 11:15 to midnight. That put the E! reality show ahead of its critically acclaimed competitor by a total of 3.807 million viewers to 3.648 million. (According to AMC, another airing of “Mad Men” at 1 a.m. pushed the night’s total viewership to more than 4 million.) The victory of “Kourtney and Khloe,” a spinoff of E!’s “Keeping Up With the Kardashians,” was even more decisive in the younger-adult demographics: Among viewers 18-49, the series drew 2.022 million in its first airing, landing it in the No. 8 spot for the week in that demographic in ad-supported cable. The first airing of “Mad Men” drew 1.2 million 18-to-49 viewers, a big increase from last year’s season premiere, but not enough to put it in the top 50 in that category. “Kourtney and Khloe” was even more of a hit in the 18-to-34 demographic, where its 1.387 million viewers placed it at No. 2 for the week in ad-supported cable. Again, “Mad Men” failed to chart in that demo’s top 50. The news for “Mad Men” was a tiny bit better among 25 to 54 year olds. Its 1.425 million viewers placed it at No. 25, still behind “K&K,” with 1.603 million (No. 14). Other than suggesting that a significant part of the “Mad Men” fan base may actually remember what it was like to go to work during the Cuban Missile Crisis, the numbers also indicate that “Mad Men” may have to settle with being a highly successful niche show. In its premiere hour, “Mad Men” (like “Kourtney and Khloe”) was far behind its middle-of-the-road time-slot rival “Army Wives,” which drew 4.008 million viewers to Lifetime. The week’s ad-supported-cable top 10 was dominated by mainstream dramas (“The Closer,” “Royal Pains,” “Monk”), sports (NASCAR and preseason football) and sort-of sports (two episodes of WWE wrestling). Besides demanding more attention than the average channel flipper is willing to give, “Mad Men” may face another problem: backlash among potential viewers who, before they’ve had a chance to give it a try, are already sick of hearing fans and critics tell them how superior the show is to the rest of TV. That’s a problem that “Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami” will never have. *** In cable ratings for the week ended Aug. 16: Top five networks in primetime (18-49s): USA, TBS, TNT, ESPN, A&E. Top five networks in primetime (total viewers): USA, Fox News Channel, TNT, Nick at Nite, ESPN. Top movie (18-49s): TBS’s “Daddy’s Little Girls” (Sunday, 8 p.m.) 1.52 million. Top sporting event (total viewers): ESPN’s “NFL Football: Cardinals/Steelers” (Thursday, 8 p.m.) 4.76 million. Shows making the top 10 among 18-34s, 18-49s and 25-54s: ESPN’s “NFL Football: Cardinals/Steelers” (Thursday, 8 p.m.); USA’s “WWE Raw” (Monday, 10 p.m.); Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” (Thursday, 10 p.m.). Show on the rise: Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” Thursday 10 p.m. The reality series jumped nearly 31 percent week-to-week among viewers 18-34, from 932,000 viewers to 1.217 million. Show on the decline: USA’s “Royal Pains,” Thursday 10 p.m. Without a “Burn Notice” lead-in, “Pains” slipped about 13 percent week-to-week among viewers 25-54, from 3.05 million to a still-substantial 2.66 million.
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