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On Lifetime,
promising debut for 'Diva'

Sunday premiere averages a 1.6 in women 18-49

By Kevin Downey
Jul 15, 2009

After years of slumping ratings and executive shakeups, Lifetime may finally be shaking its image as a one-note network of tear-jerker movies about women in distress.

The network has been moving into comedy with repeats of “Reba,” as well as original series, such as the steamy drama "Army Wives" and the sitcom “Rita Rocks.”

Now there's “Drop Dead Diva,” a light drama that directly taps into issues on just about every woman’s mind at one time or another, from dieting to self-esteem and relationships.

The show, which debuted on Sunday at 9 p.m. to mostly good reviews, struck a chord with women.

Its premiere episode, which led into the hit “Wives,” generated a 1.6 rating among women 18-49, an improvement of some 148 percent over the timeslot average the prior four weeks, while averaging 2.8 million viewers, more than double the timeslot’s average the prior month.

"Diva's" premiere drew the best rating for an original Lifetime drama since the 2007 debut of "Wives," a heavier drama than “Diva” but one that also tosses in comedy.

“Diva” pulled a 1.9 rating among women 25-54, up 158 percent.

“Diva” is loading up on big-name guest stars its first season, including Rosie O’Donnell and Paula Abdul.

On Sunday, "Wives" averaged a 2.3 rating in women 18-49 and 3.8 million total viewers.

Last week, Lifetime ranked No. 16 among all cable networks with more than 1.1 million primetime viewers. It was No. 17 in 18-49s with 486,000 viewers.

That’s a bit better than Lifetime’s recent averages. In second quarter, it ranked No. 15 in total viewers but with just under 1.1 million people tuning in, down 28 percent from second quarter 2008. It was No. 19 in 18-49s with 472,000 viewers, down 23 percent.

***

In cable ratings for the week ended July 12:

Top five networks in primetime (18-49s): USA, FX, ABC Family, TNT, TBS.

Top five networks in primetime (total viewers): USA, TNT, Fox News Channel, ABC Family, Syfy.

Top movie (18-49s): ABC Family’s “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” (Sunday, 7:30 p.m.) 1.49 million.

Top sporting event (total viewers): TNT’s “Sprint Cup Racing/Chicago” (Saturday, 7:59 p.m.) 4.81 million.

Shows making the top 10 among 18-34s, 18-49s and 25-54s: USA’s “WWE Raw” (Monday, 9 and 10 p.m.); CNN’s “Jackson Memorial Service” (Tuesday, 2 and 3 p.m.); USA’s “Burn Notice” (Thursday, 9 p.m.).

Show on the rise: Syfy’s “Eureka,” Friday 9 p.m. The season-three second-half premiere averaged 1.1 million viewers 18-49, up 23 percent from the first-half finale in September.

Show on the decline: MTV’s “Real World,” Wednesday 10 p.m. The long-running reality series averaged 1.03 million viewers 18-34, down 13 percent from 1.18 million the previous week.

TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS Ranked on Household Rating Week Ending July 12
Rank	Primetime		Total Day
Rank	Net	(000)	Net	(000)
1	USA	2407	NICK	1740
2	TNT	1757	NAN *	1222
3	FOXN	1654	USA	1192
4	FAM	1275	ADSM*	1025
5	SYFY	1226	TNT	1020
6	NAN	1170	FOXN	977
7	FX	1127	TOON	804
8	TBSC	1101	CNN	764
9	CNN	1052	TBSC	698
10	HIST	963	FAM	653
11	ESPN	953	HIST	604
12	HGTV	937	FX	587
13	DISC	917	DISC	585
14	LIF	903	LIF	582
15	FOOD	892	FOOD	581
16	AEN	885	SYFY	575
17	TLC	868	ESPN	563
18	TOON	793	AEN	553
19	HALL	751	TRU	537
20	TRU	736	HGTV	518
21	SPK	724	SPK	476
22	AMC	716	TLC	474
23	BET	699	MTV	462
24	MTV	643	HALL	460
25	MSNB	626	AMC	443
* 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 July 12
Rank	Program	Net	(000)
1	The Closer	TNT	4349
2	Royal Pains	USA	4214
3	Jackson Memorial Service	CNN	4008
4	Jackson Memorial Service	CNN	3978
5	Jackson Memorial Service	CNN	3859
6	Burn Notice	USA	3849
7	WWE Raw	USA	3740
8	Jackson Memorial Coverage	CNN	3632
9	Jackson Memorial Coverage	CNN	3600
10	iCarly	NICK	3522
11	Sprint Cup Racing/Chicago	TNT	3408
12	WWE Raw	USA	3377
13	NCIS	USA	3142
14	NASCAR Post Race Show	TNT	3093
15	Situation Room	CNN	2995
16	Army Wives	LIF	2972
17	In Plain Sight	USA	2929
18	Jackson Memorial Coverage	CNN	2887
19	NCIS	USA	2827
20	The O'Reilly Factor	FOXN	2738
21	Law & Order: CI (Orig)	USA	2721
22	Spongebob	NICK	2700
23	NCIS	USA	2683
24	Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire	FAM	2675
25	NCIS	USA	2670
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data

TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS Adults 18-34 Week Ending July 12
Rank	PRIME TIME		TOTAL DAY
Rank	Net	(000)	Net	(000)
1	USA	526	ADSM*	447
2	TBSC	453	NAN *	358
3	FX	452	NICK	342
4	FAM	451	TBSC	274
5	MTV	401	MTV	249
6	TLC	322	USA	244
7	SPK	321	FAM	236
8	DISC	315	TNT	233
9	BET	305	FX	231
10	NAN	298	ESPN	205
* 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 July 12
Rank	PROGRAM	NET	(000)
1	Jackson Memorial Service	CNN	1178
2	WWE Raw	USA	1160
3	Family Guy	ADSM	1130
4	Family Guy	ADSM	1125
5	Family Guy	ADSM	1115
6	Jackson Memorial Service	CNN	1097
7	Family Guy	ADSM	1091
8	WWE Raw	USA	1081
9	Family Guy	ADSM	1048
10	Burn Notice	USA	1035
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data

TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS Adults 18-49 Week Ending July 12
Rank	PRIME TIME		TOTAL DAY
Rank	Net	(000)	Net	(000)
1	USA	1256	ADSM*	626
2	FX	909	NAN *	614
3	FAM	865	USA	599
4	TNT	862	TNT	583
5	TBSC	850	NICK	550
6	SYFY	770	TBSC	513
7	DISC	692	FX	436
8	AEN	594	FAM	418
9	SPK	591	DISC	396
10	TLC	584	ESPN	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 18-49 Week Ending July 12
Rank	PROGRAM	NET	(000)
1	WWE Raw	USA	2523
2	Jackson Memorial Service	CNN	2496
3	WWE Raw	USA	2322
4	Jackson Memorial Service	CNN	2299
5	Burn Notice	USA	2266
6	Royal Pains	USA	2204
7	Deadliest Catch	DISC	2189
8	Jackson Memorial Service	CNN	2154
9	Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire	FAM	2035
10	Jackson Memorial Coverage	CNN	2028
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data

TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS Adults 25-54 Week Ending July 12
	PRIME TIME		TOTAL DAY
Rank	Net	(000)	Net	(000)
1	USA	1447	USA	676
2	TNT	1066	TNT	660
3	SYFY	879	NAN *	470
4	FX	852	TBSC	462
5	TBSC	788	NICK	449
6	FAM	760	ADSM*	436
7	DISC	680	DISC	389
8	HIST	628	FX	388
9	FOOD	610	SYFY	383
10	AEN	602	HIST	373
* 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 July 12
Rank	PROGRAM	NET	(000)
1	Sprint Cup Racing/Chicago	TNT	2583
2	Royal Pains	USA	2582
3	WWE Raw	USA	2582
4	NASCAR Post Race Show	TNT	2541
5	Burn Notice	USA	2499
6	Jackson Memorial Service	CNN	2478
7	WWE Raw	USA	2394
8	Jackson Memorial Service	CNN	2332
9	The Closer	TNT	2267
10	Jackson Memorial Service	CNN	2149
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data