On cable, thirst
for junk is still growing
Spinoffs of two top auction shows debut to big audiences
By Toni Fitzgerald
Jan 19, 2012
Fox's attempt at piggybacking on the cable craze over other people's junk didn't work out too well last summer, when "Buried Treasure" was one of the season's biggest bombs.
But on cable the craze continues to flourish.
New spinoffs of two of the genre's biggest hits are putting up very strong numbers, if not quite as strong as the shows they were spun from.
History's "Cajun Pawn Stars," an offshoot of the original "Pawn Stars," grew in its second week, always a promising sign for a new show.
"Cajun" averaged 3.8 million total viewers for back-to-back episodes Sunday at 10 p.m., according to Nielsen, up from 3.6 million for its debut the previous week.
By comparison, "Pawn," History's top show, averaged 6 million viewers for two episodes Monday at 10 p.m.
The second major spinoff, A&E's "Storage Wars Texas," came a bit closer to matching the show it spun off of. "Texas" averaged 3.78 million viewers in the Tuesday 10:30 p.m. timeslot, just 1 million fewer than the original "Storage Wars."
But "Texas" had a big advantage over "Cajun:" It airs as the lead-out to the original "Storage" while "Cajun" launched on a separate night from its predecessor.
History and A&E wisely chose not to mess with success in developing the two new shows.
Like "Pawn," "Cajun" follows the exploits of a family-owned pawn shop, this one located in Louisiana rather than Las Vegas, but with the same sort of quirky characters coming into the store.
And "Texas," which last month became the most-watched series premiere in A&E history, is the same as the original except it's set in Texas rather than California and features a different set of bidders.
In "Storage," bidders compete to acquire the contents of abandoned storage units, hoping to find something that will bring in big money at auction.
The continued popularity of these four shows, as well as truTV's "Hardcore Pawn" and PBS's "Antiques Roadshow," isn't just about the junk, though that's certainly a big part of it.
It's also about the personalities and the feeling that it isn't always just about the money. There are also themes of respect and an interest in history that give junk shows their appeal.
***
In cable ratings for the week ended Jan. 15:
Top five networks in primetime (18-49s): ESPN, TBS, USA, History, A&E.
Top five networks in primetime (total viewers): ESPN, USA, Disney Channel, History, TBS.
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" (Wednesday, 8 p.m.); 2. Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" (Thursday, 8 p.m.); 3. Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" (Friday, 8 p.m.); 4 Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" (Monday, 8 p.m.); 5. Fox News Channel's "New Hampshire Primary" (Tuesday, 8 p.m.)
Top movie (18-49s): No movie during the week made the top 50 in 18-49s.
Top sporting event (total viewers): ESPN's "College Football: LSU/Alabama" (Monday, 8:30 p.m.) 24.21 million.
Shows making the top 10 among 18-34s, 18-49s and 25-54s: ESPN's "College Football: LSU/Alabama " (Monday, 8:30 p.m.); ESPN's "2012 LSU/Alabama" (Monday, 11:24 p.m.); ESPN's "BCS Bowl Studio" (Mondady, 7:50 p.m., 8:16 p.m. and 11:36 p.m.); MTV's "Jersey Shore" (Thursday, 10 p.m.)
Show on the rise: BET's "The Game," Tuesday, 10 p.m. The fifth-season premiere averaged 5.3 million total viewers, up 20 percent from 4.4 million for the fourth-season finale.
Show on the decline: OWN's "Oprah's Next Chapter," Sunday, 9 p.m. Oprah Winfrey's interview subject, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, wasn't much of a draw, as the show average 501,000 total viewers, down 68 percent from 1.56 million the previous week when pastor Joel Osteen was the guest.
|
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Ranked on Household Rating
Week Ending Jan. 15 |
|
Rank |
Primetime |
Total Day |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1 |
ESPN |
3017 |
NICK |
1294 |
|
2 |
USA |
2124 |
DSNY |
1194 |
|
3 |
DSNY |
1707 |
ESPN |
1166 |
|
4 |
HIST |
1606 |
ADSM* |
1079 |
|
5 |
TBSC |
1486 |
USA |
1057 |
|
6 |
FOXN |
1411 |
NAN * |
921 |
|
7 |
AEN |
1317 |
FOXN |
899 |
|
8 |
TNT |
1193 |
TNT |
884 |
|
9 |
ADSM |
1104 |
TOON |
819 |
|
10 |
SYFY |
979 |
HIST |
802 |
|
11 |
FOOD |
960 |
TBSC |
743 |
|
12 |
DISC |
930 |
AEN |
712 |
|
13 |
NAN |
920 |
FOOD |
572 |
|
14 |
FAM |
889 |
HGTV |
561 |
|
15 |
HGTV |
874 |
TVLD |
556 |
|
16 |
TRU |
844 |
FX |
552 |
|
17 |
MTV |
810 |
ID |
551 |
|
18 |
LIF |
799 |
MTV |
502 |
|
19 |
BET |
772 |
DISC |
483 |
|
20 |
FX |
755 |
AMC |
452 |
|
21 |
TLC |
728 |
LIF |
445 |
|
22 |
BRAV |
713 |
TRU |
437 |
|
23 |
TVLD |
712 |
SYFY |
436 |
|
24 |
AMC |
705 |
NKJR |
431 |
|
25 |
CMDY |
673 |
TLC |
431 |
|
* 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 Total Viewers
Week Ending Jan. 15 |
|
Rank
|
Program |
Net
|
(000) |
|
1 |
LSU/Alabama |
ESPN |
24214 |
|
2 |
2012 LSU/Alabama |
ESPN |
21555 |
|
3 |
BCS Bowl Studio |
ESPN |
13649 |
|
4 |
BCS Bowl Studio |
ESPN |
12006 |
|
5 |
BCS Bowl Studio |
ESPN |
8141 |
|
6 |
Jersey Shore Season 5 |
MTV |
6491 |
|
7 |
Pawn Stars |
HIST |
6117 |
|
8 |
Pawn Stars |
HIST |
5951 |
|
9 |
American Pickers |
HIST |
5494 |
|
10 |
Gold Rush |
DISC |
5480 |
|
11 |
The Game |
BET |
5286 |
|
12 |
Storage Wars |
AEN |
4821 |
|
13 |
Storage Wars |
AEN |
4773 |
|
14 |
Frenemies |
DSNY |
4207 |
|
15 |
NCIS |
USA |
4176 |
|
16 |
Jersey Shore Season 5 Aftershow |
MTV |
4127 |
|
17 |
WWE Raw |
USA |
4096 |
|
18 |
Sportscenter |
ESPN |
4074 |
|
19 |
The Big Bang Theory |
TBSC |
4020 |
|
20 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
3959 |
|
21 |
WWE Raw |
USA |
3920 |
|
22 |
Cajun Pawn Stars |
HIST |
3912 |
|
23 |
NCIS |
USA |
3874 |
|
24 |
Storage Wars Texas |
AEN |
3783 |
|
25 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
3767 |
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending Jan. 15 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
ESPN |
1065 |
ADSM* |
539 |
|
2
|
TBSC |
655 |
ESPN |
459 |
|
3
|
MTV |
560 |
NAN * |
369 |
|
4
|
USA |
449 |
TBSC |
332 |
|
5
|
AEN |
439 |
NICK |
317 |
|
6
|
ADSM |
438 |
MTV |
316 |
|
7
|
HIST |
399 |
DSNY |
240 |
|
8
|
FAM |
396 |
USA |
239 |
|
9
|
CMDY |
383 |
AEN |
228 |
|
10
|
BET |
351 |
CMDY |
225 |
|
* 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 Jan. 15 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
2012 LSU/Alabama |
ESPN |
5323 |
|
2
|
LSU/Alabama |
ESPN |
5299 |
|
3
|
Jersey Shore Season 5 |
MTV |
3826 |
|
4
|
BCS Bowl Studio |
ESPN |
3186 |
|
5
|
BCS Bowl Studio |
ESPN |
2967 |
|
6
|
Jersey Shore Season 5 Aftershow |
MTV |
2538 |
|
7
|
The Game |
BET |
2228 |
|
8
|
Teen Mom II Season 2 |
MTV |
2120 |
|
9
|
Teen Mom II Season 2 |
MTV |
1821 |
|
10
|
BCS Bowl Studio |
ESPN |
1800 |
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-49
Week Ending Jan. 15 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
ESPN |
2036 |
ESPN |
813 |
|
2
|
TBSC |
1160 |
ADSM* |
734 |
|
3
|
USA |
974 |
TBSC |
561 |
|
4
|
HIST |
973 |
NAN * |
531 |
|
5
|
AEN |
901 |
USA |
502 |
|
6
|
MTV |
718 |
NICK |
485 |
|
7
|
DISC |
687 |
HIST |
459 |
|
8
|
ADSM |
644 |
AEN |
451 |
|
9
|
TRU |
638 |
TNT |
450 |
|
10
|
TNT |
636 |
MTV |
404 |
|
* 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 Jan. 15 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
LSU/Alabama |
ESPN |
11143 |
|
2
|
2012 LSU/Alabama |
ESPN |
10798 |
|
3
|
BCS Bowl Studio |
ESPN |
6468 |
|
4
|
BCS Bowl Studio |
ESPN |
6206 |
|
5
|
Jersey Shore Season 5 |
MTV |
4821 |
|
6
|
BCS Bowl Studio |
ESPN |
3790 |
|
7
|
The Game |
BET |
3563 |
|
8
|
Jersey Shore Season 5 Aftershow |
MTV |
3148 |
|
9
|
Pawn Stars |
HIST |
3009 |
|
10
|
Pawn Stars |
HIST |
2918 |
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 25-54
Week Ending Jan. 15 |
|
|
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Rank
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
ESPN |
1997 |
ESPN |
743 |
|
2
|
HIST |
1128 |
USA |
527 |
|
3
|
TBSC |
1067 |
HIST |
514 |
|
4
|
USA |
1035 |
TBSC |
488 |
|
5
|
AEN |
907 |
TNT |
484 |
|
6
|
DISC |
737 |
ADSM* |
459 |
|
7
|
TNT |
667 |
AEN |
449 |
|
8
|
TRU |
660 |
NICK |
375 |
|
9
|
FOOD |
651 |
NAN * |
366 |
|
10
|
SYFY |
625 |
FX |
362 |
|
* 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 Jan. 15 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
LSU/Alabama |
ESPN |
11379 |
|
2
|
2012 LSU/Alabama |
ESPN |
10698 |
|
3
|
BCS Bowl Studio |
ESPN |
6397 |
|
4
|
BCS Bowl Studio |
ESPN |
6199 |
|
5
|
BCS Bowl Studio |
ESPN |
3833 |
|
6
|
Pawn Stars |
HIST |
3357 |
|
7
|
Pawn Stars |
HIST |
3262 |
|
8
|
Gold Rush |
DISC |
3197 |
|
9
|
Jersey Shore Season 5 |
MTV |
2931 |
|
10
|
American Pickers |
HIST |
2797 |
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data |
|
|
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