“The Colbert Report” got off to a promising start, as one might have expected of any lead-out of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.” The show’s bigger challenge post-launch was distinguishing itself enough from the “Daily Show” to build an audience of its own.
It has done that. Last week, some four months after it premiered, “Colbert” had its best week ever, delivering 1.2 million total viewers.
Year to date, “Colbert” is averaging 1.1 million total viewers weeknights at 11:30 p.m., up 38 percent from the same month’s timeslot average in 2005. Back then, Comedy Central was airing the previous night's episode of “Daily Show.”
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In the meantime, “Colbert” has eased its way into popular culture with the term “Truthiness,” which a few weeks ago was picked by the American Dialect Society as the word of the year for 2005. Popularized by faux host Stephen Colbert, it means preferring the truth one wishes to be so over the facts.
Colbert plays a fictional news anchor, a satirized amalgam of the type of news anchors who dominate news, cable news in particular, these days. He is Bill O’Reilly, Anderson Cooper and Joe Scarborough all rolled into one, and then kicked up a notch.
Colbert is certainly funny, but the concern when the show launched out of the “Daily Show” was whether the particular brand of humor they shared would work over a full hour. Stewart, an executive producer of "Colbert," had ruled out extending his show to a full hour, saying that filling a half hour was challenging enough.
"Colbert" works, wrote Media Life’s Toni Fitzgerald in a review last October, because it reaches beyond the “Daily Show.” "The show is smart in its own right, and it's in many ways so different from the show it follows.”
Meanwhile, in other cable ratings for the week ended Jan. 29:
Top five networks in primetime (18-49s): USA, TNT, TBS, FX, Spike
Top five networks in primetime (total viewers): USA, TNT, Nick at Nite, TBS, Fox News
Top movie (18-49s): TNT’s “Forrest Gump” (Sunday 5 p.m.) 2.45 million
Top sporting event (total viewers): USA’s "WWE Entertainment" (Monday 10 p.m.) 5.65 million
Shows making the top 10 among 18-34s, 18-49s and 25-54s: USA’s "WWE Entertainment" (Monday, 9 &10 p.m.); TNT’s “Forrest Gump” (Sunday, 5 p.m.); TBS’s “Rush Hour 2” (Sunday, 4 p.m.)
Show on the rise: “Little Einsteins,” Disney Channel, daily 8 a.m. An off-shoot of the Little Einstein line of educational toys and products, the pre-school program has become a hit on Disney Channel’s Playhouse Disney block of programming. “Einsteins” averaged a 4.3 kids 2-5 rating in this month, up 39 percent from last year’s time period average.
Show on the decline: “House,” USA, Friday 11 p.m. The medical drama may be one of the forces driving Fox’s run for a season win in ratings, but that is not translating to big numbers on USA. Last week, the reairing of the show averaged 1.5 million viewers 18-49, down 6 percent from the previous week. Among total viewers, the show is down 11 percent to 3.37 million.
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TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Ranked on Household Rating
Week Ending January 29 |
|
Rank |
Primetime |
Total Day |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1 |
USA |
2116 |
NICK |
1747 |
|
2 |
TNT |
1786 |
NAN* |
1407 |
|
3 |
NAN |
1373 |
USA |
1096 |
|
4 |
FOXN |
1299 |
TNT |
1045 |
|
5 |
TBSC |
1268 |
TOON |
892 |
|
6 |
FX |
1155 |
TBSC |
880 |
|
7 |
TOON |
1135 |
ADSM* |
835 |
|
8 |
LIF |
1114 |
LIF |
807 |
|
9 |
SPK |
981 |
FOXN |
775 |
|
10 |
ESPN |
935 |
FX |
605 |
|
11 |
SCIF |
914 |
MTV |
579 |
|
12 |
HALL |
899 |
ESPN |
562 |
|
13 |
DISC |
884 |
HALL |
551 |
|
14 |
MTV |
863 |
HGTV |
543 |
|
15 |
HIST |
857 |
TVLD |
525 |
|
16 |
TVLD |
839 |
SPK |
523 |
|
17 |
HGTV |
836 |
DISC |
520 |
|
18 |
CMDY |
771 |
HIST |
519 |
|
19 |
CORT |
758 |
FOOD |
503 |
|
20 |
BET |
711 |
AEN |
475 |
|
21 |
AEN |
694 |
CMDY |
471 |
|
22 |
AMC |
648 |
SCIF |
447 |
|
23 |
ESP2 |
611 |
CORT |
436 |
|
24 |
TLC |
580 |
AMC |
425 |
|
25 |
CNN |
568 |
FAM |
418 |
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
|
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE PROGRAMS
Ranked on Households
Week Ending January 29 |
|
Rank |
Program |
Net |
(000) |
|
1 |
WWE Entertainment |
USA |
4079 |
|
2 |
WWE Entertainment |
USA |
4075 |
|
3 |
Monk |
USA |
3797 |
|
4 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
3472 |
|
5 |
Fairly Odd Parents |
NICK |
3140 |
|
6 |
Fairly Odd Parents |
NICK |
3083 |
|
7 |
Forrest Gump |
TNT |
2999 |
|
8 |
Fairly Odd Parents |
NICK |
2989 |
|
9 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2967 |
|
10 |
Rush Hour 2 |
TBSC |
2925 |
|
11 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2916 |
|
12 |
Zoey 101 |
NICK |
2782 |
|
13 |
Drake & Josh |
NICK |
2730 |
|
14 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2715 |
|
15 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2706 |
|
16 |
Drake & Josh |
NICK |
2680 |
|
17 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2645 |
|
18 |
Fairly Odd Parents |
NICK |
2640 |
|
19 |
House |
USA |
2629 |
|
20 |
Drake & Josh |
NICK |
2595 |
|
21 |
Law & Order |
TNT |
2551 |
|
22 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2513 |
|
23 |
Fairly Odd Parents Movie |
NICK |
2505 |
|
24 |
Drake & Josh |
NICK |
2453 |
|
25 |
Drake & Josh |
NICK |
2428 |
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending January 29 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1 |
USA |
524 |
NAN* |
502 |
|
2 |
TBSC |
501 |
ADSM* |
347 |
|
3 |
MTV |
431 |
TBSC |
336 |
|
4 |
FX |
427 |
NICK |
335 |
|
5 |
TNT |
421 |
MTV |
281 |
|
6 |
NAN |
369 |
USA |
266 |
|
7 |
BET |
350 |
TNT |
262 |
|
8 |
ESPN |
325 |
ESPN |
230 |
|
9 |
CMDY |
321 |
FX |
218 |
|
10 |
SPK |
270 |
CMDY |
201 |
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending January 29 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1 |
RW/RR The Gauntlet ll |
MTV |
1687 |
|
2 |
WWE Entertainment |
USA |
1576 |
|
3 |
WWE Entertainment |
USA |
1562 |
|
4 |
Family Guy |
ADSM |
1270 |
|
5 |
Rush Hour 2 |
TBSC |
1090 |
|
6 |
Meet The Barkers |
MTV |
1085 |
|
7 |
Forrest Gump |
TNT |
1084 |
|
8 |
There & Back |
MTV |
1045 |
|
9 |
Rush Hour |
TBSC |
1027 |
|
10 |
Futurama |
ADSM |
962 |
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-49
Week Ending January 29 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1 |
USA |
1234 |
NAN* |
841 |
|
2 |
TNT |
1040 |
TBSC |
640 |
|
3 |
TBSC |
965 |
USA |
623 |
|
4 |
FX |
924 |
TNT |
619 |
|
5 |
SPK |
655 |
NICK |
558 |
|
6 |
DISC |
614 |
FX |
458 |
|
7 |
NAN |
605 |
ADSM* |
453 |
|
8 |
ESPN |
597 |
LIF |
437 |
|
9 |
CMDY |
579 |
ESPN |
391 |
|
10 |
MTV |
568 |
MTV |
357 |
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS
Adults 18-49
Week Ending January 29 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1 |
WWE Entertainment |
USA |
2956 |
|
2 |
WWE Entertainment |
USA |
2879 |
|
3 |
Forrest Gump |
TNT |
2453 |
|
4 |
Rush Hour 2 |
TBSC |
2074 |
|
5 |
RW/RR The Gauntlet ll |
MTV |
2043 |
|
6 |
Monk |
USA |
1940 |
|
7 |
Rush Hour |
TBSC |
1846 |
|
8 |
Forrest Gump |
TNT |
1831 |
|
9 |
The Shield |
FX |
1785 |
|
10 |
Family Guy |
ADSM |
1584 |
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 25-54
Week Ending January 29 |
|
|
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Rank |
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1 |
USA |
1292 |
NAN* |
704 |
|
2 |
TNT |
1136 |
TNT |
655 |
|
3 |
TBSC |
884 |
USA |
649 |
|
4 |
FX |
868 |
TBSC |
576 |
|
5 |
SPK |
699 |
LIF |
452 |
|
6 |
SCIF |
663 |
NICK |
439 |
|
7 |
DISC |
610 |
FX |
423 |
|
8 |
LIF |
610 |
SPK |
358 |
|
9 |
ESPN |
547 |
DISC |
351 |
|
10 |
CMDY |
506 |
ESPN |
340 |
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS
Adults 25-54
Week Ending January 29 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1 |
WWE Entertainment |
USA |
2645 |
|
2 |
Forrest Gump |
TNT |
2591 |
|
3 |
WWE Entertainment |
USA |
2542 |
|
4 |
Monk |
USA |
2395 |
|
5 |
Rush Hour 2 |
TBSC |
1919 |
|
6 |
The Shield |
FX |
1907 |
|
7 |
House |
USA |
1888 |
|
8 |
Forrest Gump |
TNT |
1807 |
|
9 |
Screen Actors Guild Awards Show |
TNT |
1608 |
|
10 |
Submerged |
USA |
1598 |
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
