With 'America,'
a historic day for History
'Story of Us' miniseries debut sets a network record
By Toni Fitzgerald
Apr 28, 2010
It seems documentary-style miniseries are quite the thing on cable this spring.
A month after Discovery Channel's "Life" premiered to strong ratings, History's similarly sweeping series "America, the Story of Us" debuted to a record crowd.
Airing Sunday night from 9 to 11 p.m., "America" averaged 5.7 million total viewers, becoming the most-watched special in network history.
It drew 2.7 million adults 25-54 and 2.6 million 18-49s, more than half of them men, an audience the network has been targeting for some years.
Combined with back-to-back episodes of the hit show "Pawn Stars" at 8 p.m., History had its best night ever across virtually every demographic.
"America," which tracks our nation's history over 400 years, got a bit of free publicity leading up to the debut because President Barack Obama taped an introduction to the show, probably drawing in some viewers who hadn't otherwise intended to watch.
The question now is how much of that audience will come back next week, the same issue that faced "Life." The 11-part series drew 9.4 million viewers for its debut last month, airing across seven Discovery-owned networks.
Six million watched on Discovery's flagship channel, where it continued to air in ensuing weeks. While it never again hit 6 million, six episodes of the show made cable's top 100 programs in April, averaging a respectable 4.1 million viewers each.
If two-thirds of "America's" viewers also stick around over the next five weeks, that would give History's primetime average a nice lift. The network averaged 1.8 million viewers in primetime in April, ranking fifth for the month on basic cable.
***
In cable ratings for the week ended April 25:
Top five networks in primetime (18-49s): TNT, ESPN, USA, History, TBS.
Top five networks in primetime (total viewers): USA, TNT, ESPN, History, Nick at Nite.
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.) 3.14 million; 2. Fox News Channel’s “The O’Reilly Factor” (Thursday, 8 p.m.) 2.94 million; 3. Fox News Channel’s “The O’Reilly Factor” (Wednesday, 8 p.m.) 2.88 million; 4. Fox News Channel’s “The O’Reilly Factor” (Tuesday, 8 p.m.) 2.71 million; 5. Fox News Channel’s “The O’Reilly Factor” (Friday, 8 p.m.) 2.22 million.
Top movie (18-49s): USA’s “National Treasure: Book of Secrets” (Sunday, 8:30 p.m.) 1.46 million.
Top sporting event (total viewers): ESPN’s “NFL Draft” (Thursday, 7:30 p.m.) 7.29 million.
Shows making the top 10 among 18-34s, 18-49s and 25-54s: ESPN’s “NFL Draft” (Thursday, 7:30 p.m.); History’s “Pawn Stars” (Sunday, 8:30 p.m.); ESPN’s “NBA Basketball: Lakers/Thunder” (Saturday, 9:35 p.m.); TNT’s “NBA Basketball: Bulls/Cavaliers” (Monday, 8:05 p.m.).
Show on the rise: Animal Planet's “River Monsters” Sunday 10 p.m. The second-season premiere averaged 917,000 adults 18-49, the best for any debut in network history.
Show on the decline: Lifetime’s “Project Runway” Thursday 10 p.m. The season finale averaged 3.8 million total viewers, down 11 percent from 4.28 million for the fall season finale on Nov. 19.
|
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED
CABLE NETWORKS
Ranked on
Household Rating
Week Ending April 25 |
|
Rank |
Primetime |
Total Day |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
USA
|
2246
|
NICK
|
1622
|
|
2
|
TNT
|
2131
|
NAN
*
|
1407
|
|
3
|
ESPN
|
1912
|
TNT
|
1200
|
|
4
|
HIST
|
1618
|
USA
|
1070
|
|
5
|
NAN
|
1582
|
ADSM*
|
1022
|
|
6
|
FOXN
|
1408
|
ESPN
|
907
|
|
7
|
TBSC
|
1186
|
FOXN
|
852
|
|
8
|
TOON
|
1105
|
TOON
|
838
|
|
9
|
AEN
|
1079
|
HIST
|
778
|
|
10
|
HGTV
|
945
|
TBSC
|
673
|
|
11
|
LIF
|
905
|
AEN
|
649
|
|
12
|
DISC
|
883
|
LIF
|
567
|
|
13
|
TRU
|
855
|
TRU
|
554
|
|
14
|
FAM
|
834
|
HGTV
|
530
|
|
15
|
FX
|
825
|
FOOD
|
515
|
|
16
|
TLC
|
781
|
MTV
|
502
|
|
17
|
FOOD
|
780
|
FX
|
495
|
|
18
|
SYFY
|
765
|
DISC
|
491
|
|
19
|
CMDY
|
741
|
FAM
|
475
|
|
20
|
MTV
|
727
|
SPK
|
469
|
|
21
|
SPK
|
707
|
CMDY
|
463
|
|
22
|
AMC
|
665
|
TVLD
|
460
|
|
23
|
TVLD
|
640
|
SYFY
|
416
|
|
24
|
LMN
|
637
|
TLC
|
404
|
|
25
|
HALL
|
622
|
LMN
|
402
|
|
*
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 April 25 |
|
Rank
|
Program |
Net
|
(000) |
|
1
|
NFL
Draft
|
ESPN
|
5273
|
|
2
|
America
The
Story Of Us
|
HIST
|
3898
|
|
3
|
Pawn
Stars
|
HIST
|
3816
|
|
4
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
3317
|
|
5
|
Pawn
Stars
|
HIST
|
3311
|
|
6
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
3299
|
|
7
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
3298
|
|
8
|
Spongebob
|
NAN
|
3234
|
|
9
|
Pawn
Stars
|
HIST
|
3150
|
|
10
|
Lakers/Thunder
|
ESPN
|
3106
|
|
11
|
WWE
Raw
|
USA
|
3097
|
|
12
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
3052
|
|
13
|
Project
Runway
|
LIF
|
3030
|
|
14
|
WWE
Raw
|
USA
|
2971
|
|
15
|
Bulls/Cavaliers
|
TNT
|
2931
|
|
16
|
The
Penguins Of
Madagascar
|
NICK
|
2928
|
|
17
|
Lakers/Thunder
|
TNT
|
2920
|
|
18
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
2919
|
|
19
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2875
|
|
20
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2869
|
|
21
|
Thunder/Lakers
|
TNT
|
2845
|
|
22
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2839
|
|
23
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2805
|
|
24
|
Law
& Order: Criminal Intent
|
USA
|
2802
|
|
25
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
2761
|
|
Source:
Turner Research from Nielsen data
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED
CABLE NETWORKS
Adults
18-34
Week Ending April 25 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
TNT
|
841
|
ADSM*
|
536
|
|
2
|
ESPN
|
695
|
TNT
|
386
|
|
3
|
USA
|
491
|
NAN
*
|
384
|
|
4
|
MTV
|
464
|
ESPN
|
354
|
|
5
|
TBSC
|
439
|
NICK
|
346
|
|
6
|
HIST
|
394
|
MTV
|
304
|
|
7
|
CMDY
|
388
|
TBSC
|
257
|
|
8
|
FAM
|
311
|
CMDY
|
248
|
|
9
|
SPK
|
308
|
USA
|
244
|
|
10
|
AEN
|
289
|
HIST
|
210
|
|
*
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 April 25 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
NFL
Draft
|
ESPN
|
2260
|
|
2
|
South
Park
|
CMDY
|
1840
|
|
3
|
Family
Guy
|
ADSM
|
1567
|
|
4
|
Family
Guy
|
ADSM
|
1433
|
|
5
|
Thunder/Lakers
|
TNT
|
1416
|
|
6
|
16 And
Pregnant 2
|
MTV
|
1350
|
|
7
|
Pawn
Stars
|
HIST
|
1328
|
|
8
|
Lakers/Thunder
|
ESPN
|
1326
|
|
9
|
Family
Guy
|
ADSM
|
1313
|
|
10
|
Bulls/Cavaliers
|
TNT
|
1308
|
|
Source:
Turner Research from Nielsen data
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED
CABLE NETWORKS
Adults
18-49
Week Ending April 25 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
TNT
|
1501
|
TNT
|
765
|
|
2
|
ESPN
|
1335
|
ADSM*
|
711
|
|
3
|
USA
|
1176
|
NAN
*
|
661
|
|
4
|
HIST
|
936
|
ESPN
|
646
|
|
5
|
TBSC
|
807
|
NICK
|
578
|
|
6
|
AEN
|
666
|
USA
|
565
|
|
7
|
DISC
|
629
|
TBSC
|
483
|
|
8
|
CMDY
|
595
|
HIST
|
469
|
|
9
|
MTV
|
569
|
AEN
|
394
|
|
10
|
FAM
|
567
|
MTV
|
380
|
|
*
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 April 25 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
NFL
Draft
|
ESPN
|
4236
|
|
2
|
America
The
Story Of Us
|
HIST
|
2587
|
|
3
|
Pawn
Stars
|
HIST
|
2577
|
|
4
|
South
Park
|
CMDY
|
2472
|
|
5
|
Lakers/Thunder
|
ESPN
|
2369
|
|
6
|
Thunder/Lakers
|
TNT
|
2293
|
|
7
|
Pawn
Stars
|
HIST
|
2258
|
|
8
|
Bulls/Cavaliers
|
TNT
|
2253
|
|
9
|
Pawn
Stars
|
HIST
|
2210
|
|
10
|
Lakers/Thunder
|
TNT
|
2186
|
|
Source:
Turner Research from Nielsen data
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED
CABLE NETWORKS
Adults
25-54
Week Ending April 25 |
|
|
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Rank
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
TNT
|
1418
|
TNT
|
746
|
|
2
|
USA
|
1328
|
USA
|
612
|
|
3
|
ESPN
|
1276
|
ESPN
|
580
|
|
4
|
HIST
|
1018
|
NAN
*
|
501
|
|
5
|
TBSC
|
738
|
HIST
|
495
|
|
6
|
AEN
|
685
|
NICK
|
450
|
|
7
|
DISC
|
645
|
TBSC
|
437
|
|
8
|
SYFY
|
590
|
ADSM*
|
428
|
|
9
|
TRU
|
573
|
AEN
|
401
|
|
10
|
FX
|
530
|
TRU
|
366
|
|
*
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 April 25 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
NFL
Draft
|
ESPN
|
3964
|
|
2
|
Pawn
Stars
|
HIST
|
2716
|
|
3
|
America
The
Story Of Us
|
HIST
|
2681
|
|
4
|
Pawn
Stars
|
HIST
|
2430
|
|
5
|
Deadliest
Catch
|
DISC
|
2344
|
|
6
|
Pawn
Stars
|
HIST
|
2281
|
|
7
|
Lakers/Thunder
|
ESPN
|
2180
|
|
8
|
Project
Runway
|
LIF
|
2086
|
|
9
|
Bulls/Cavaliers
|
TNT
|
2024
|
|
10
|
Lakers/Thunder
|
TNT
|
1979
|
|
Source:
Turner Research from Nielsen data
|
|
|
|
