Obviously, "Project Runway" was and is a hot show, which is why
Bravo and Lifetime went to court in their tussle over which cable
network would get to air it.
The problem is that while Lifetime won the court fight, it's doing less well with the show it fought so hard to get.
Some 3.25 million viewers watched the series’ 10 p.m. airing last
Thursday, Oct. 29, and that's up from 3.02 million the prior week,
according to Nielsen’s live-plus-same-day ratings. Viewers 18-49 rose
to 1.86 million from 1.75 million.
But those total numbers are down sharply from the record 4.2 million
people who saw the show’s season six premiere this August, and they're
also down from the series' last season on Bravo. Viewers 18-49 are off
9 percent.
Certainly part of the decline may well reflect Lifetime's shrinking audience.
Both total viewers and 18-49s were down in primetime these last two
months: Total viewers by 25 percent in September and October versus the
prior the year-earlier periods, while 18-49s were down 20 percent in
September and 18 percent in October.
But there also may be problems with “Project Runway" itself.
No star of the magnitude of season 4’s Christian Siriano has emerged
among the contestants, and the show’s most entertainingly snarky
judges, Michael Kors and Nina Garcia, have made fewer appearances this
season.
Lifetime programming executives point out that “Runway” has helped lower the network's median age of viewers to 46.4 and that half the show’s viewers are new to Lifetime, which has likely helped with the successful launch of the network’s series “Drop Dead Diva.”
Still, it has to irk the folks at Lifetime that Bravo is enjoying a stellar year without “Project Runway.” The channel had its best ratings quarter ever this summer, and its ratings are up slightly in both total viewers and 18-49s this fall compared with fall 2008.
In fact, “Project Runway” was recently losing its timeslot among women 18-49 to its rival on its former home channel, Bravo’s “Real Housewives of Atlanta.”
***
In cable ratings for the week ended Nov. 1:
Top five networks in primetime (18-49s): ESPN, USA, TNT, TBS, Syfy.
Top five networks in primetime (total viewers): USA, ESPN, Fox News Channel, TNT, Nick at Nite.
Top movie (18-49s): No movie during the week made the top 50 among 18-49s.
Top sporting event (total viewers): ESPN’s “Monday Night Football: Eagles/Redskins” (Monday, 8:30 p.m.) 12.77 million.
Shows making the top 10 among 18-34s, 18-49s and 25-54s: ESPN’s “Monday Night Football: Eagles/Redskins” (Monday, 8:30 p.m.); FX’s “Sons of Anarchy” (Tuesday, 10 p.m.); TNT’s “NBA Basketball: Celtics/Cavaliers” (Tuesday, 7:31 p.m.); USA’s “WWE Raw” (Monday, 10 p.m.);
Show on the rise: Travel Channel’s “Ghost Adventures Live,” Friday 8 p.m. The seven-hour event averaged a 0.79 household rating, which doesn’t sound like much but is the second-best Friday night rating in the network’s history behind a 2003 “World Poker Tour” marathon.
Show on the decline: Comedy Central’s “The Jeff Dunham Show,” Thursday 9 p.m. The ventriloquist’s show averaged 1.33 million viewers 18-49, down 55 percent from 2.95 million the previous week.
|
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Ranked on Household Rating
Week Ending November 1 |
|
Rank |
Primetime |
Total Day |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
USA
|
2584
|
NICK
|
1502
|
|
2
|
ESPN
|
2325
|
USA
|
1354
|
|
3
|
FOXN
|
1602
|
NAN
*
|
1150
|
|
4
|
TNT
|
1580
|
ESPN
|
1057
|
|
5
|
NAN
|
1320
|
FOXN
|
992
|
|
6
|
TBSC
|
1109
|
TNT
|
973
|
|
7
|
SYFY
|
1090
|
TOON
|
884
|
|
8
|
AEN
|
1087
|
ADSM*
|
854
|
|
9
|
HGTV
|
1041
|
TBSC
|
673
|
|
10
|
TOON
|
988
|
AEN
|
662
|
|
11
|
TLC
|
961
|
FOOD
|
618
|
|
12
|
FX
|
948
|
HGTV
|
578
|
|
13
|
FOOD
|
938
|
TRU
|
570
|
|
14
|
SPK
|
840
|
SYFY
|
568
|
|
15
|
DISC
|
831
|
FX
|
562
|
|
16
|
HIST
|
821
|
LIF
|
527
|
|
17
|
TRU
|
819
|
SPK
|
526
|
|
18
|
CMDY
|
802
|
DISC
|
517
|
|
19
|
FAM
|
764
|
HIST
|
515
|
|
20
|
ESP2
|
755
|
TLC
|
478
|
|
21
|
AMC
|
731
|
HALL
|
473
|
|
22
|
LIF
|
730
|
AMC
|
472
|
|
23
|
BET
|
703
|
FAM
|
470
|
|
24
|
BRAV
|
686
|
TVLD
|
464
|
|
25
|
HALL
|
671
|
CMDY
|
454
|
|
* 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 November 1 |
|
Rank
|
Program |
Net
|
(000) |
|
1
|
Eagles vs. Redskins
|
ESPN
|
9258
|
|
2
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
3761
|
|
3
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
3629
|
|
4
|
White Collar
|
USA
|
3576
|
|
5
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
3531
|
|
6
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
3361
|
|
7
|
Monk
|
USA
|
3289
|
|
8
|
College Football-Saturday Afternoon
|
ESPN
|
3194
|
|
9
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
3142
|
|
10
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
3075
|
|
11
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
3000
|
|
12
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2991
|
|
13
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
2987
|
|
14
|
Celtics vs. Cavaliers
|
TNT
|
2977
|
|
15
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
2947
|
|
16
|
The Penguins Of
Madagascar
|
NICK
|
2921
|
|
17
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
2851
|
|
18
|
The O'Reilly Factor
|
FOXN
|
2821
|
|
19
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
2820
|
|
20
|
The Penguins Of
Madagascar
|
NICK
|
2810
|
|
21
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
2798
|
|
22
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2791
|
|
23
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
2761
|
|
24
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
2754
|
|
25
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2752
|
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending November 1 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
ESPN
|
717
|
ADSM*
|
448
|
|
2
|
USA
|
571
|
ESPN
|
376
|
|
3
|
TNT
|
510
|
NICK
|
322
|
|
4
|
TBSC
|
487
|
NAN
*
|
291
|
|
5
|
BET
|
413
|
USA
|
289
|
|
6
|
FX
|
371
|
TBSC
|
286
|
|
7
|
CMDY
|
369
|
TNT
|
260
|
|
8
|
SPK
|
359
|
FX
|
236
|
|
9
|
TLC
|
344
|
CMDY
|
214
|
|
10
|
SYFY
|
339
|
SPK
|
208
|
|
* 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 November 1 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
Eagles vs. Redskins
|
ESPN
|
3247
|
|
2
|
BET Hip Hop Awards
|
BET
|
1578
|
|
3
|
The Hills
|
MTV
|
1369
|
|
4
|
Clippers vs. Lakers
|
TNT
|
1355
|
|
5
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
1321
|
|
6
|
Family Guy
|
ADSM
|
1301
|
|
7
|
Family Guy
|
ADSM
|
1294
|
|
8
|
The Ultimate Fighter
|
SPK
|
1259
|
|
9
|
Sons Of Anarchy
|
FX
|
1246
|
|
10
|
Celtics vs. Cavaliers
|
TNT
|
1238
|
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-49
Week Ending November 1 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
ESPN
|
1529
|
ESPN
|
732
|
|
2
|
USA
|
1315
|
USA
|
677
|
|
3
|
TNT
|
1010
|
ADSM*
|
620
|
|
4
|
TBSC
|
861
|
TNT
|
564
|
|
5
|
SYFY
|
816
|
NAN
*
|
524
|
|
6
|
FX
|
763
|
NICK
|
507
|
|
7
|
FOOD
|
652
|
TBSC
|
499
|
|
8
|
TLC
|
648
|
FX
|
440
|
|
9
|
SPK
|
643
|
SYFY
|
375
|
|
10
|
BET
|
631
|
SPK
|
374
|
|
* 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 November 1 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
Eagles vs. Redskins
|
ESPN
|
6860
|
|
2
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2824
|
|
3
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2614
|
|
4
|
Sons Of Anarchy
|
FX
|
2390
|
|
5
|
BET Hip Hop Awards
|
BET
|
2354
|
|
6
|
Celtics vs. Cavaliers
|
TNT
|
2230
|
|
7
|
Top Chef
|
BRAV
|
2222
|
|
8
|
Clippers vs. Lakers
|
TNT
|
2114
|
|
9
|
The Real Housewives Of
Atlanta
|
BRAV
|
2034
|
|
10
|
The Ultimate Fighter
|
SPK
|
1959
|
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 25-54
Week Ending November 1 |
|
|
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Rank
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
ESPN
|
1563
|
USA
|
737
|
|
2
|
USA
|
1465
|
ESPN
|
681
|
|
3
|
TNT
|
1013
|
TNT
|
587
|
|
4
|
SYFY
|
888
|
NAN
*
|
478
|
|
5
|
TBSC
|
725
|
TBSC
|
428
|
|
6
|
FX
|
719
|
SYFY
|
412
|
|
7
|
FOOD
|
683
|
NICK
|
411
|
|
8
|
AEN
|
659
|
ADSM*
|
402
|
|
9
|
TLC
|
628
|
FX
|
395
|
|
10
|
SPK
|
580
|
AEN
|
380
|
|
* 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 November 1 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
Eagles vs. Redskins
|
ESPN
|
6776
|
|
2
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2813
|
|
3
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2579
|
|
4
|
Sons Of Anarchy
|
FX
|
2287
|
|
5
|
Top Chef
|
BRAV
|
2286
|
|
6
|
Celtics vs. Cavaliers
|
TNT
|
2036
|
|
7
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
2036
|
|
8
|
The Real Housewives Of
Atlanta
|
BRAV
|
1988
|
|
9
|
Ghost Hunters
|
SYFY
|
1974
|
|
10
|
College Football-Saturday Afternoon
|
ESPN
|
1889
|
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
