Red carpet shows
rise on Twitter glitter
E! and TV Guide Network ratings are up for Oscars
By Toni Fitzgerald
Mar 10, 2010
Pre-Oscars red carpet shows were hot stuff this year on cable.
The strong ratings were partially attributable to greater interest in the Oscars telecast, which scored its largest audience in five years.
But social media also likely gave E! and TV Guide Network's coverage a boost. Before the show, dozens of web sites hosted chats about the Oscar fashions on the red carpet, and Twitter, Facebook and other social networks had literally thousands of posts on the subject.
E!'s "Live from the Red Carpet: The 2010 Academy Awards" was up over last year, following a record performance for its Grammy pre-show earlier this year.
"Carpet" averaged 3.5 million total viewers from 6 to 8 p.m., according to Nielsen, up 5 percent over last year, and a 1.7 rating among adults 18-49, up 8 percent.
And TV Guide Network's "Live at the Academy Awards with Carrie Ann Inaba and Chris Harrison" drew 497,000 total viewers, one-third more than the channel's second-most-watched show of the week.
Credit the rise of social networking for much of this boost. Social media has essentially taken the place of Oscar parties in that way, allowing people to interact with other red carpet followers without leaving their house.
Hours before the ceremony, the Oscars were the top trending topic on Twitter, and even the stars themselves whetted viewers' appetite for their fashion choices. Nicole Richie was among those tweeting pictures of herself getting ready.
ABC took viewers' questions via Facebook and fed them to the stars as they arrived on a show that aired on Oscar.com. And AP and Livestream offered a red carpet widget that allowed viewers to get live Twitter and Facebook updates while watching the arrivals.
***
In cable ratings for the week ended March 7:
Top five networks in primetime (18-49s): USA, TBS, TNT, History, ESPN.
Top five networks in primetime (total viewers): USA, Fox News Channel, TNT, TBS, History.
Top five cable news networks in primetime (25-54): Fox News Channel, MSNBC, HLN, CNN, CNBC.
Top five cable news programs (total viewers): 1. Fox News Channel’s “The O’Reilly Factor” (Monday, 8 p.m.) 4.02 million; 2. Fox News Channel’s “The O’Reilly Factor” (Thursday, 8 p.m.) 3.62 million; 3. Fox News Channel’s “The O’Reilly Factor” (Wednesday, 8 p.m.) 3.58 million; 4. Fox News Channel’s “The O’Reilly Factor” (Friday, 8 p.m.) 3.48 million; 5. Fox News Channel’s “The O’Reilly Factor” (Tuesday, 8 p.m.) 3.38 million.
Top movie (18-49s): TBS’s “Old School” (Sunday, 8 p.m.) 1.36 million.
Top sporting event (total viewers): ESPN’s “College Basketball: North Carolina/Duke” (Saturday, 9 p.m.) 2.50 million.
Shows making the top 10 among 18-34s, 18-49s and 25-54s: History’s “Pawn Stars” (Monday, 10 and 10:30 p.m.); USA’s “WWE Raw” (Monday, 10 p.m.).
Show on the rise: Disney Channel’s “Hannah Montana” Sunday 7:30 p.m. The first part of the season-three finale averaged 6.3 million total viewers, including 2.2 million 9-14s, giving Disney Channel its best numbers ever in the time period.
|
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Ranked on Household Rating
Week Ending March 7 |
|
Rank |
Primetime |
Total Day |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
USA
|
2207
|
NICK
|
1667
|
|
2
|
FOXN
|
1699
|
NAN
*
|
1331
|
|
3
|
TNT
|
1375
|
USA
|
1125
|
|
4
|
NAN
|
1359
|
TNT
|
1031
|
|
5
|
HIST
|
1307
|
FOXN
|
1029
|
|
6
|
TBSC
|
1271
|
ADSM*
|
986
|
|
7
|
ESPN
|
1151
|
TOON
|
815
|
|
8
|
AEN
|
1115
|
TBSC
|
763
|
|
9
|
FAM
|
1021
|
HIST
|
715
|
|
10
|
HGTV
|
1001
|
AEN
|
714
|
|
11
|
TOON
|
887
|
ESPN
|
642
|
|
12
|
FX
|
839
|
HGTV
|
611
|
|
13
|
TRU
|
809
|
TRU
|
572
|
|
14
|
LIF
|
804
|
LIF
|
559
|
|
15
|
DISC
|
801
|
FOOD
|
540
|
|
16
|
SYFY
|
801
|
FX
|
536
|
|
17
|
FOOD
|
750
|
FAM
|
513
|
|
18
|
AMC
|
737
|
SPK
|
492
|
|
19
|
TLC
|
704
|
DISC
|
491
|
|
20
|
HALL
|
684
|
TVLD
|
452
|
|
21
|
CMDY
|
682
|
HALL
|
444
|
|
22
|
SPK
|
671
|
AMC
|
443
|
|
23
|
MTV
|
657
|
CMDY
|
423
|
|
24
|
BRAV
|
617
|
SYFY
|
414
|
|
25
|
MSNB
|
596
|
MTV
|
393
|
|
* 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 Households
Week Ending March 7 |
|
Rank
|
Program |
Net
|
(000) |
|
1
|
Pawn Stars
|
HIST
|
3861
|
|
2
|
WWE Raw
|
USA
|
3747
|
|
3
|
WWE Raw
|
USA
|
3533
|
|
4
|
Pawn Stars
|
HIST
|
3529
|
|
5
|
iCarly
|
NICK
|
3505
|
|
6
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
3431
|
|
7
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
3372
|
|
8
|
Burn Notice
|
USA
|
3140
|
|
9
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
3091
|
|
10
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
3049
|
|
11
|
The O'Reilly Factor
|
FOXN
|
3015
|
|
12
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2977
|
|
13
|
The Penguins Of
Madagascar
|
NICK
|
2956
|
|
14
|
iCarly
|
NICK
|
2955
|
|
15
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2952
|
|
16
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
2934
|
|
17
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
2877
|
|
18
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
2829
|
|
19
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
2779
|
|
20
|
The O'Reilly Factor
|
FOXN
|
2721
|
|
21
|
The O'Reilly Factor
|
FOXN
|
2707
|
|
22
|
Big Time Rush
|
NICK
|
2691
|
|
23
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2683
|
|
24
|
American Pickers
|
HIST
|
2673
|
|
25
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
2666
|
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending March 7 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
TBSC
|
674
|
ADSM*
|
522
|
|
2
|
USA
|
508
|
NICK
|
370
|
|
3
|
MTV
|
400
|
TBSC
|
352
|
|
4
|
TNT
|
400
|
NAN
*
|
351
|
|
5
|
CMDY
|
352
|
TNT
|
253
|
|
6
|
HIST
|
352
|
USA
|
248
|
|
7
|
FX
|
349
|
ESPN
|
244
|
|
8
|
ESPN
|
335
|
MTV
|
224
|
|
9
|
FAM
|
323
|
CMDY
|
216
|
|
10
|
AEN
|
296
|
FX
|
213
|
|
* 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 March 7 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
Pawn Stars
|
HIST
|
1637
|
|
2
|
16 And Pregnant 2
|
MTV
|
1440
|
|
3
|
Family Guy
|
ADSM
|
1337
|
|
4
|
Family Guy
|
ADSM
|
1283
|
|
5
|
Family Guy
|
TBSC
|
1267
|
|
6
|
WWE Raw
|
USA
|
1260
|
|
7
|
Pawn Stars
|
HIST
|
1255
|
|
8
|
Family Guy
|
TBSC
|
1225
|
|
9
|
Family Guy
|
ADSM
|
1210
|
|
10
|
America
's Best Dance Crew S5
|
MTV
|
1210
|
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-49
Week Ending March 7 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
USA
|
1148
|
ADSM*
|
698
|
|
2
|
TBSC
|
1107
|
NAN
*
|
627
|
|
3
|
TNT
|
876
|
TBSC
|
621
|
|
4
|
HIST
|
818
|
TNT
|
608
|
|
5
|
ESPN
|
678
|
NICK
|
581
|
|
6
|
AEN
|
669
|
USA
|
554
|
|
7
|
FX
|
660
|
HIST
|
446
|
|
8
|
FAM
|
643
|
ESPN
|
425
|
|
9
|
CMDY
|
559
|
AEN
|
419
|
|
10
|
DISC
|
548
|
FX
|
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 March 7 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
Pawn Stars
|
HIST
|
3075
|
|
2
|
WWE Raw
|
USA
|
2702
|
|
3
|
Pawn Stars
|
HIST
|
2680
|
|
4
|
WWE Raw
|
USA
|
2470
|
|
5
|
Burn Notice
|
USA
|
2164
|
|
6
|
American Pickers
|
HIST
|
1990
|
|
7
|
Family Guy
|
TBSC
|
1939
|
|
8
|
Family Guy
|
TBSC
|
1912
|
|
9
|
Live From the Red Carpet: 2010 Academy Awards
|
EN
|
1873
|
|
10
|
Family Guy
|
TBSC
|
1865
|
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 25-54
Week Ending March 7 |
|
|
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Rank
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
USA
|
1262
|
TNT
|
639
|
|
2
|
HIST
|
909
|
USA
|
600
|
|
3
|
TBSC
|
894
|
TBSC
|
527
|
|
4
|
TNT
|
894
|
NAN
*
|
512
|
|
5
|
AEN
|
701
|
HIST
|
468
|
|
6
|
ESPN
|
663
|
NICK
|
467
|
|
7
|
SYFY
|
597
|
ADSM*
|
446
|
|
8
|
FAM
|
583
|
AEN
|
437
|
|
9
|
FX
|
581
|
ESPN
|
383
|
|
10
|
DISC
|
543
|
FX
|
361
|
|
* 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 March 7 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
Pawn Stars
|
HIST
|
2986
|
|
2
|
Pawn Stars
|
HIST
|
2747
|
|
3
|
WWE Raw
|
USA
|
2667
|
|
4
|
WWE Raw
|
USA
|
2496
|
|
5
|
Burn Notice
|
USA
|
2268
|
|
6
|
American Pickers
|
HIST
|
2101
|
|
7
|
Live From the Red Carpet: 2010 Academy Awards
|
EN
|
1838
|
|
8
|
Pawn Stars
|
HIST
|
1780
|
|
9
|
Real Housewives Of
Orange
County
|
BRAV
|
1750
|
|
10
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
1745
|
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data
|
|
|
|
