Much like a lot of sports these days, college baseball has seen ratings pick up over last year, perhaps because cash-strapped consumers are staying home and watching television instead of going out.
Or maybe the College World Series is just proving to be an exciting matchup between the No. 1-ranked LSU Tigers and the Texas Longhorns, who fell to the Tigers in the first of a best-of-three matchup on Monday in an exciting 11-inning game. LSU beat Texas 7-6.
After the Longhorns rebounded to take game two, the Tigers wrapped up their sixth CWS title, and first since 2000, with a win last night.
Ratings have been good for ESPN and ESPN2 for most games in the NCAA postseason.
For four games, ESPN was up 11 percent in households, to a 1 rating, based on ESPN’s analysis of Nielsen ratings.
Its household audience was up 8 percent, to 976,000 homes. And its total audience was up 11 percent, to an average 1.28 million viewers.
ESPN2 for eight games has seen bigger increases over last year.
It was up 14 percent in households, to a 0.8 rating, while its household audience was up 19 percent, to 821,000 homes. ESPN2’s total audience for the NCAA games was up nearly 18 percent, to just over 1 million viewers.
Meanwhile, both ESPN and ESPN2 pulled decent ratings last week, although well off the strong ratings generated for the recently concluded NBA post season.
For the week ending Sunday, June 21, ESPN ranked No. 15 among all cable networks in total viewers with 1.1 million viewers. ESPN2 was No. 17 with just under 1.1 million people tuning in.
In 18-49s, ESPN was No. 18 and ESPN2 ranked No. 24 with 441,000 and 387,000 viewers, respectively.
***
In cable ratings for the week ended June 21:
Top five networks in primetime (18-49s): USA, TNT, TBS, Discovery Channel, Nick at Nite.
Top five networks in primetime (total viewers): USA, TNT, Fox News Channel, Nick at Nite, TBS.
Top movie (18-49s): USA’s “Sweet Home Alabama” (Tuesday, 8 p.m.) 1.92 million.
Top sporting event (total viewers): TNT’s “Sprint Cup Racing/Sonoma” (Sunday, 5 p.m.) 5.79 million.
Shows making the top 10 among 18-34s, 18-49s and 25-54s: USA’s “WWE Raw” (Monday, 9 and 10 p.m.); Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” (Tuesday, 10 p.m.); USA’s “Royal Pains” (Thursday, 10 p.m.).
Show on the rise: Bravo’s “Real Housewives of New Jersey,” Tuesday 10 p.m. The season finale attracted 2.46 million viewers 18-49, up 56 percent from 1.58 million the previous week.
Show on the decline: TLC’s “Jon and Kate Plus 8,” Monday 9 p.m. The reality series temporarily came back down to Earth a bit, last week averaging 1.76 million viewers 18-49, off 29 percent from 2.48 million the previous week. Of course, one week later it more than tripled that number.
|
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Ranked on Household Rating
Week Ending June 21 |
|
Rank |
Primetime |
Total Day |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
USA
|
2850
|
NICK
|
1725
|
|
2
|
TNT
|
1766
|
NAN
*
|
1390
|
|
3
|
FOXN
|
1617
|
USA
|
1263
|
|
4
|
NAN
|
1484
|
TNT
|
1052
|
|
5
|
TBSC
|
1193
|
ADSM*
|
1040
|
|
6
|
DISC
|
1053
|
FOXN
|
951
|
|
7
|
HGTV
|
1037
|
TOON
|
899
|
|
8
|
AEN
|
959
|
TBSC
|
694
|
|
9
|
TOON
|
932
|
DISC
|
619
|
|
10
|
LIF
|
929
|
ESPN
|
606
|
|
11
|
TLC
|
899
|
AEN
|
595
|
|
12
|
ESPN
|
893
|
TRU
|
580
|
|
13
|
FOOD
|
880
|
FOOD
|
565
|
|
14
|
HIST
|
879
|
HIST
|
556
|
|
15
|
ESP2
|
833
|
SPK
|
555
|
|
16
|
FX
|
831
|
HGTV
|
549
|
|
17
|
FAM
|
788
|
LIF
|
542
|
|
18
|
SPK
|
785
|
FX
|
505
|
|
19
|
TRU
|
768
|
CNN
|
479
|
|
20
|
BRAV
|
715
|
AMC
|
473
|
|
21
|
SCIF
|
711
|
TVLD
|
469
|
|
22
|
AMC
|
694
|
FAM
|
462
|
|
23
|
HALL
|
678
|
TLC
|
452
|
|
24
|
CMDY
|
663
|
HALL
|
444
|
|
25
|
MSNB
|
598
|
CMDY
|
418
|
|
* 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 June 21 |
|
Rank
|
Program |
Net
|
(000) |
|
1
|
The Closer
|
TNT
|
4782
|
|
2
|
Royal Pains
|
USA
|
4516
|
|
3
|
Burn Notice
|
USA
|
4108
|
|
4
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
4040
|
|
5
|
Sprint Cup Racing/Sonoma
|
TNT
|
3906
|
|
6
|
NASCAR Post Race Show
|
TNT
|
3788
|
|
7
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
3729
|
|
8
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
3689
|
|
9
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
3619
|
|
10
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
3556
|
|
11
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
3475
|
|
12
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
3300
|
|
13
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2984
|
|
14
|
Hawthorne
|
TNT
|
2901
|
|
15
|
iCarly
|
NICK
|
2871
|
|
16
|
The Real Housewives of
New Jersey
|
BRAV
|
2864
|
|
17
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
2857
|
|
18
|
In Plain Sight
|
USA
|
2842
|
|
19
|
iCarly Movie:iDate a Bad Boy
|
NICK
|
2830
|
|
20
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
2769
|
|
21
|
Mr. Troop Mom
|
NICK
|
2704
|
|
22
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
2702
|
|
23
|
The Penguins Of
Madagascar
|
NICK
|
2660
|
|
24
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
2655
|
|
25
|
Raising The Bar
|
TNT
|
2635
|
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending June 21 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
USA
|
745
|
ADSM*
|
465
|
|
2
|
TBSC
|
506
|
NAN
*
|
388
|
|
3
|
NAN
|
373
|
NICK
|
325
|
|
4
|
TNT
|
372
|
USA
|
308
|
|
5
|
SPK
|
371
|
TBSC
|
292
|
|
6
|
FX
|
348
|
TNT
|
254
|
|
7
|
DISC
|
338
|
SPK
|
234
|
|
8
|
CMDY
|
319
|
FX
|
199
|
|
9
|
TLC
|
310
|
ESPN
|
193
|
|
10
|
AEN
|
307
|
DISC
|
192
|
|
* 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 June 21 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
1504
|
|
2
|
The Real Housewives Of
New Jersey
|
BRAV
|
1460
|
|
3
|
Royal Pains
|
USA
|
1418
|
|
4
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
1380
|
|
5
|
Family Guy
|
ADSM
|
1198
|
|
6
|
Family Guy
|
ADSM
|
1186
|
|
7
|
Jon & Kate Plus 8
|
TLC
|
1113
|
|
8
|
Family Guy
|
ADSM
|
1104
|
|
9
|
Family Guy
|
ADSM
|
1103
|
|
10
|
Family Guy
|
TBSC
|
1065
|
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-49
Week Ending June 21 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
USA
|
1702
|
USA
|
702
|
|
2
|
TNT
|
974
|
NAN
*
|
678
|
|
3
|
TBSC
|
926
|
ADSM*
|
625
|
|
4
|
DISC
|
803
|
TNT
|
614
|
|
5
|
NAN
|
691
|
NICK
|
531
|
|
6
|
SPK
|
664
|
TBSC
|
531
|
|
7
|
FX
|
659
|
DISC
|
424
|
|
8
|
AEN
|
639
|
SPK
|
398
|
|
9
|
TLC
|
571
|
FX
|
371
|
|
10
|
FOOD
|
565
|
AEN
|
368
|
|
* 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 June 21 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2942
|
|
2
|
Royal Pains
|
USA
|
2825
|
|
3
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2746
|
|
4
|
NASCAR Post Race Show
|
TNT
|
2513
|
|
5
|
Burn Notice
|
USA
|
2483
|
|
6
|
The Real Housewives Of
New Jersey
|
BRAV
|
2455
|
|
7
|
Sprint Cup Racing/Sonoma
|
TNT
|
2429
|
|
8
|
Deadliest Catch
|
DISC
|
2399
|
|
9
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2129
|
|
10
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
1926
|
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 25-54
Week Ending June 21 |
|
|
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Rank
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
USA
|
1868
|
USA
|
750
|
|
2
|
TNT
|
1094
|
TNT
|
661
|
|
3
|
TBSC
|
841
|
NAN
*
|
559
|
|
4
|
DISC
|
797
|
TBSC
|
465
|
|
5
|
AEN
|
634
|
NICK
|
439
|
|
6
|
FOOD
|
601
|
ADSM*
|
422
|
|
7
|
SPK
|
596
|
DISC
|
414
|
|
8
|
HIST
|
588
|
AEN
|
368
|
|
9
|
NAN
|
588
|
TRU
|
363
|
|
10
|
FX
|
587
|
SPK
|
344
|
|
* 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 June 21 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
NASCAR Post Race Show
|
TNT
|
3046
|
|
2
|
Royal Pains
|
USA
|
2977
|
|
3
|
Sprint Cup Racing/Sonoma
|
TNT
|
2935
|
|
4
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2869
|
|
5
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2785
|
|
6
|
Burn Notice
|
USA
|
2765
|
|
7
|
The Closer
|
TNT
|
2594
|
|
8
|
Deadliest Catch
|
DISC
|
2508
|
|
9
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
2330
|
|
10
|
The Real Housewives Of
New Jersey
|
BRAV
|
2276
|
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
