Yell and scream,
'Jersey Shore' is a hit
New MTV reality series sees a surge in the ratings
By Toni Fitzgerald
Jan 13, 2010
New Jersey lawmakers and Italian-American groups can agitate all they want. There's no way MTV is canceling "Jersey Shore."
The controversial reality show about a group of self-described guidos and guidettes has become the network's highest-rated series, with huge growth over the past few weeks as the "Shore" stars become tabloid staples.
Last week's episode averaged a series-high 3.2 Nielsen rating among viewers 12-34 in its Thursday 10 p.m. timeslot. That was up 68 percent over its season-to-date average of 1.9.
Among adults 18-34, "Shore" ranked second on cable for the week behind only E!'s "Keeping up with the Kardashians."
"Shore" averaged a series-best 3.2 million total viewers as well despite airing opposite ABC's Bowl Championship Series title game, which drew its best ratings in three years. "Shore" bettered its season-to-date average of 2 million viewers by 60 percent.
The huge outcry over the show has sparked curiosity and is likely responsible for its surging ratings. A few weeks ago, the New Jersey Italian American Legislative Caucus appealed to MTV to cancel the program, calling it "wildly offensive."
That followed efforts in late November by two Italian-American groups to get "Shore" axed before it even debuted.
At issue has been what the protesters call the stereotyping of this ethnic group. If you judge all Italian-Americans by the young people on "Shore," you'd believe they care only about working out, hooking up, and gelling their hair, though to be fair, that's pretty much what the kids of all ethnicities on "Real World" do, too.
But the people these groups consider offensive characters have turned into marketable personalities for MTV. The show's two breakout stars, womanizer The Situation and buxom brunette Snooki, have become tabloid staples, and there was a huge uproar when Snooki was seen being hit by a man in a preview for an upcoming episode.
MTV pulled the footage but it was leaked online, where it's become a viral hit. The network aired a public service announcement denouncing violence against women last month, after the clip began stirring up a whole new set of controversy.
***
In cable ratings for the week ended Jan. 10:
Top five networks in primetime (18-49s): USA, TBS, TNT, A&E, ABC Family.
Top five networks in primetime (total viewers): USA, TNT, Fox News Channel, Nick at Nite, A&E.
Top movie (18-49s): TNT’s “Shooter” (Sunday, 8 p.m.) 1.84 million.
Top sporting event (total viewers): ESPN’s “College Football: Central Michigan/Troy” (Wednesday, 7 p.m.) 3.52 million.
Shows making the top 10 among 18-34s, 18-49s and 25-54s: E!’s “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” (Sunday, 10 p.m.); USA’s “WWE Entertainment” (Monday, 9 and 10 p.m.).
Show on the rise: ABC Family’s “The Secret Life of the American Teenager,” Monday 8 p.m. The premiere of the second half of season two averaged 2.12 million viewers 18-49, up 12 percent from 1.9 million for the season one second half premiere last year.
Show on the decline: MTV’s “The Real World,” Wednesday 10 p.m. The reality series averaged 1.16 million viewers 18-34, off 21 percent from 1.46 million the same night last year.
|
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Ranked on Household Rating
Week Ending January 10 |
|
Rank |
Primetime |
Total Day |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
USA
|
2561
|
NICK
|
1730
|
|
2
|
TNT
|
1661
|
USA
|
1411
|
|
3
|
FOXN
|
1631
|
NAN
*
|
1380
|
|
4
|
NAN
|
1540
|
TNT
|
1118
|
|
5
|
AEN
|
1290
|
FOXN
|
1002
|
|
6
|
TBSC
|
1258
|
ADSM*
|
969
|
|
7
|
FAM
|
1128
|
TOON
|
846
|
|
8
|
HGTV
|
1107
|
ESPN
|
765
|
|
9
|
ESPN
|
1061
|
TBSC
|
744
|
|
10
|
FX
|
995
|
AEN
|
740
|
|
11
|
FOOD
|
970
|
TRU
|
620
|
|
12
|
TRU
|
932
|
FOOD
|
612
|
|
13
|
DISC
|
918
|
HGTV
|
612
|
|
14
|
HALL
|
913
|
FX
|
584
|
|
15
|
TOON
|
912
|
HIST
|
583
|
|
16
|
TLC
|
907
|
DISC
|
575
|
|
17
|
HIST
|
902
|
LIF
|
564
|
|
18
|
SYFY
|
857
|
FAM
|
541
|
|
19
|
AMC
|
795
|
SPK
|
541
|
|
20
|
MTV
|
795
|
MTV
|
517
|
|
21
|
LIF
|
778
|
AMC
|
481
|
|
22
|
SPK
|
750
|
TVLD
|
477
|
|
23
|
CMDY
|
687
|
HALL
|
470
|
|
24
|
BET
|
648
|
CMDY
|
446
|
|
25
|
EN
|
594
|
TLC
|
445
|
|
* 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 January 10 |
|
Rank
|
Program |
Net
|
(000) |
|
1
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
3695
|
|
2
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
3588
|
|
3
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
3479
|
|
4
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
3422
|
|
5
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
3370
|
|
6
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
3288
|
|
7
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
3167
|
|
8
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
3155
|
|
9
|
iCarly
|
NICK
|
3116
|
|
10
|
The Penguins Of
Madagascar
|
NICK
|
3108
|
|
11
|
iCarly
|
NICK
|
3098
|
|
12
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
3097
|
|
13
|
Secret Life of the American Teenager
|
FAM
|
3082
|
|
14
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
3011
|
|
15
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
2937
|
|
16
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2873
|
|
17
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
2850
|
|
18
|
The O'Reilly Factor
|
FOXN
|
2816
|
|
19
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
2813
|
|
20
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
2795
|
|
21
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
2794
|
|
22
|
The O'Reilly Factor
|
FOXN
|
2790
|
|
23
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2770
|
|
24
|
iCarly
|
NICK
|
2736
|
|
25
|
Central Michigan/Troy
|
ESPN
|
2705
|
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending January 10 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
USA
|
630
|
ADSM*
|
502
|
|
2
|
TBSC
|
582
|
NICK
|
388
|
|
3
|
MTV
|
484
|
NAN
*
|
368
|
|
4
|
TNT
|
421
|
USA
|
339
|
|
5
|
FAM
|
416
|
TBSC
|
304
|
|
6
|
AEN
|
373
|
MTV
|
303
|
|
7
|
DISC
|
345
|
ESPN
|
284
|
|
8
|
ESPN
|
319
|
TNT
|
262
|
|
9
|
VH1
|
313
|
FAM
|
205
|
|
10
|
FX
|
311
|
CMDY
|
204
|
|
* 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 January 10 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
Keeping Up with the Kardashians
|
EN
|
1918
|
|
2
|
Jersey
Shore
|
MTV
|
1859
|
|
3
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
1602
|
|
4
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
1470
|
|
5
|
The Secret Life of the American Teenager
|
FAM
|
1372
|
|
6
|
Family Guy
|
ADSM
|
1283
|
|
7
|
Family Guy
|
ADSM
|
1276
|
|
8
|
Teen Mom
|
MTV
|
1225
|
|
9
|
Family Guy
|
ADSM
|
1218
|
|
10
|
Real World XXIII
|
MTV
|
1163
|
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-49
Week Ending January 10 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
USA
|
1410
|
USA
|
748
|
|
2
|
TBSC
|
1019
|
ADSM*
|
676
|
|
3
|
TNT
|
973
|
TNT
|
625
|
|
4
|
AEN
|
826
|
NAN
*
|
623
|
|
5
|
FAM
|
742
|
NICK
|
614
|
|
6
|
DISC
|
694
|
TBSC
|
548
|
|
7
|
FX
|
683
|
ESPN
|
523
|
|
8
|
TRU
|
644
|
AEN
|
440
|
|
9
|
FOOD
|
634
|
DISC
|
400
|
|
10
|
ESPN
|
627
|
TRU
|
399
|
|
* 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 January 10 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2981
|
|
2
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2780
|
|
3
|
Keeping Up with the Kardashians
|
EN
|
2593
|
|
4
|
Jersey
Shore
|
MTV
|
2303
|
|
5
|
The Secret Life of the American Teenager
|
FAM
|
2119
|
|
6
|
Family Guy
|
ADSM
|
1868
|
|
7
|
Shooter
|
TNT
|
1835
|
|
8
|
Family Guy
|
ADSM
|
1774
|
|
9
|
NFL Countdown
|
ESPN
|
1765
|
|
10
|
Family Guy
|
ADSM
|
1764
|
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 25-54
Week Ending January 10 |
|
|
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Rank
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
USA
|
1489
|
USA
|
784
|
|
2
|
TNT
|
1022
|
TNT
|
672
|
|
3
|
AEN
|
912
|
NAN
*
|
510
|
|
4
|
TBSC
|
882
|
NICK
|
490
|
|
5
|
FOOD
|
690
|
TBSC
|
489
|
|
6
|
FX
|
674
|
AEN
|
477
|
|
7
|
DISC
|
668
|
ESPN
|
471
|
|
8
|
TRU
|
665
|
ADSM*
|
466
|
|
9
|
FAM
|
650
|
TRU
|
416
|
|
10
|
SYFY
|
646
|
HIST
|
393
|
|
* 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 January 10 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2747
|
|
2
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2607
|
|
3
|
Keeping Up with the Kardashians
|
EN
|
1940
|
|
4
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
1928
|
|
5
|
NFL Countdown
|
ESPN
|
1803
|
|
6
|
Shooter
|
TNT
|
1773
|
|
7
|
Ghost Hunters International
|
SYFY
|
1754
|
|
8
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
1722
|
|
9
|
Men Of A Certain Age
|
TNT
|
1693
|
|
10
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
1693
|
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
|
|
|
