'Vampire Diaries' debut
is CW's best yet
Averages 4.84 million viewers, topping '90210'
By Toni Fitzgerald
Sep 11, 2009
Viewers apparently are still thirsting for vampire fare.
Following the success of last year’s “Twilight” movie and HBO’s current hit “True Blood,” the CW’s “The Vampire Diaries” became the most-watched series debut in the network’s four-year history.
“Diaries” averaged 4.84 million total viewers, according to Nielsen overnights, topping last year’s premiere of “90210,” the former record holder, which averaged 4.64 million.
Perhaps most promising for the network, the show’s viewership grew from its first to its second half hour in viewers, from 4.65 million to 5.03 million, and across other key demographics. That’s always a good indicator of whether audiences like the show.
“Diaries” averaged a 3.0 in women 18-34, making it the network’s top-rated show this week in its target demo, and a 2.8 in women 18-49. Both marked the network’s best-ever performance in the 8 p.m. Thursday timeslot, bettering last year’s “Smallville” debut by 114 percent and 75 percent, respectively.
That also helped boost veteran lead-out “Supernatural” to a 1.7 in women 18-34 and 18-49, its best rating since January.
The CW had its best-ever Thursday night among women 18-34, averaging a 2.4, and women 18-49, averaging a 2.2.
It will be interesting to see if those numbers hold up in coming weeks. Last night the CW faced the very male-skewing NFL kickoff game on NBC, and so it’s possible women were watching “Diaries” while men watched the game, which scored the NFL’s best numbers for a season kickoff since 2003.
When NBC’s comedies, CBS’s “Survivor” and ABC’s much-anticipated new drama “FlashForward” premiere, “Diaries” will face much tougher demo competition. Still, the numbers were encouraging for the network after a more pedestrian debut for the hyped “Melrose Place” earlier this week.
Meanwhile, NBC scored a big touchdown with last night’s overtime game between the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers and Tennessee Titans.
The network averaged a 13.8 household rating from 8:45 p.m. to 11:45 p.m., up 37 percent from last year’s 10.1 for the New York Giants-Washington Redskins, which started much earlier to allow for coverage of the Republican National Convention.
It marked the best rating for any show since “American Idol’s” season finale last spring.
NBC was first for the night among 18-49s with a 7.0 average overnight rating and a 20 share. CBS was second at 1.9/5, CW third at 1.7/5, Univision fourth at 1.5/4, Fox fifth at 1.2/3 and ABC sixth at 1.1/3.
Ratings for NBC’s NFL coverage are approximate as fast nationals measure timeslot and not actual program data.
As a reminder, all ratings are based on live-plus-same-day DVR playback. Seven-day DVR data won’t be available for several weeks. Thirty-two percent of Nielsen households have DVRs.
At 8 p.m. NBC led with a 5.9 for football pregame and the first part of its game, followed by CBS with a 2.6 for “Big Brother.” CW was third with a 2.1 for “Diaries,” Univision fourth with a 1.5 for “El Nombre del Amor,” Fox fifth with a 1.2 for a “Bones” rerun and ABC sixth with a 1.1 for a repeat of “Grey’s Anatomy.”
NBC was first again at 9 p.m. with a 7.8 for football, while Univision moved to second with a 2.1 for “Mañana Es para Siempre.” CW and CBS tied for third at 1.4, CBS for a repeat of “CSI” and CW for “Supernatural,” with ABC fifth with a 1.3 for more “Grey’s” and Fox sixth with a 1.1 for a repeat of “Fringe.”
At 10 p.m. NBC was first with a 7.3 for more football, with CBS second with a 1.7 for a repeat of “The Mentalist.” ABC was third with a 1.0 for a “Private Practice” rerun and Univision fourth with a 0.8 for “Reviva el Sueño.”
NBC also led the night among households with a 10.9 average overnight rating and an 18 share. CBS was second at 5.1/8, ABC third at 2.9/5, CW fourth at 2.6/4, Fox fifth at 2.5/4 and Univision sixth at 1.9/3.
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