Just days after Rick Kaplan was canned as MSNBC president, “Weekends with Maury and Connie” left the air, and the timing seemed fitting.
In many ways, "Weekends" was emblematic of Kaplan’s tenure.
Over its six months, the show never quite established an identity, relying instead on the celebrity of its two hosts, Maury Povich and Connie Chung. Its poor ratings were the result.
Similarly, MSNBC under Kaplan failed to carve out an identity opposite cable news leaders Fox News Channel and CNN. An experienced producer, Kaplan did well at nurturing established shows, and MSNBC posted rating gains, but the shows he introduced did poorly, among them "Weekends."
"Weekends" averaged 232,000 total viewers in its Saturday 10 a.m. slot, according to Nielsen, but just 76,000 in the network’s adults 25-54 target demographic. By comparison, MSNBC averaged 246,000 viewers in total day during first quarter and 100,000 viewers 25-54, according to Nielsen numbers crunched by MTV Networks.
What’s more, ratings were erratic, jumping some weeks and plummeting others. Last weekend’s final episode averaged 264,000, up 14 percent from its season average.
Just what "Weekends" was about never became clear. Were the well-known husband-and-wife team presenting the news or critiquing it? Was it a talk show, a news show, or a family program?
Or was it just what it looked like, two well-known if somewhat passed-over TV personalities who happened to be married jawing about this and that?
The only real attention "Weekends" got was unwanted, when this spring a former “Maury” talk show producer accused Povich of having an affair with another female employee and sued the show and producer NBC Universal for sexual harassment.
Chung, whose most recent credits include a failed stint hosting the news at CNN, stood by her man, but the suit and hullabaloo only served to further curse the show's prospects.
Then, on the final episode last Saturday, Chung warbled a badly off-key farewell while draped across a piano. Chung insists the song was meant to be a joke, but the reaction has been brutal.
The New York Post carped about the “bizarre sendoff,” and in the four days since, video of Chung’s torch song has become quite popular on YouTube.com and iFilm.com, where it has been downloaded thousands of times while drawing viewer comments about its creepiness.
Meanwhile, in other cable ratings for the week ended June 18:
Top five networks in primetime (18-49s): USA, TBS, TNT, Discovery, Spike
Top five networks in primetime (total viewers): USA, TNT, TBS, Lifetime, Nick at Nite
Top movie (18-49s): USA’s “Bruce Almighty” (Sunday, 7 p.m.) 1.76 million
Top sporting event (total viewers): USA’s “WWE Entertainment” (Monday, 10 p.m.) 5.80 million
Shows making the top 10 among 18-34s, 18-49s and 25-54s: USA’s “WWE Entertainment” (Monday, 10 p.m.); USA’s “WWE Entertainment” (Monday, 9 p.m.); Sci Fi’s “ECW” (Tuesday, 10 p.m.)
Show on the rise: “ECW,” Sci Fi, Tuesday 10 p.m. The premiere of “Extreme Championship Wrestling” on, of all places, Sci Fi was Tuesday night’s most-watched show on basic cable, delivering nearly 3.4 million total viewers and improving on its timeslot average over the previous four weeks by 457 percent among adults 18-49.
Show on the decline: “The 4400,” USA, Sunday 9 p.m. The second episode of the third season declined by 1.1 million viewers, or 26 percent, from the 4.2 million who watched last week’s premiere. It also lost about 600,000 viewers 18-49 facing stiffer competition in Game Five of the NBA finals on ABC.
|
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Ranked on Household Rating
Week Ending June 18 |
|
Rank |
Primetime |
Total Day |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1 |
USA |
2141 |
NICK |
1695 |
|
2 |
TNT |
2055 |
NAN* |
1193 |
|
3 |
TBSC |
1580 |
TOON |
1040 |
|
4 |
LIF |
1351 |
TNT |
1024 |
|
5 |
NAN |
1220 |
USA |
971 |
|
6 |
TOON |
1136 |
ADSM* |
922 |
|
7 |
FOXN |
1092 |
TBSC |
847 |
|
8 |
DISC |
993 |
LIF |
769 |
|
9 |
SPK |
974 |
FOXN |
650 |
|
10 |
HGTV |
913 |
ESPN |
643 |
|
11 |
FX |
912 |
MTV |
583 |
|
12 |
HALL |
911 |
DISC |
569 |
|
13 |
AMC |
902 |
HALL |
539 |
|
14 |
ESPN |
841 |
FAM |
534 |
|
15 |
MTV |
825 |
HGTV |
511 |
|
16 |
SCIF |
801 |
FX |
501 |
|
17 |
FAM |
779 |
TVLD |
490 |
|
18 |
HIST |
768 |
SPK |
487 |
|
19 |
CORT |
750 |
CMDY |
480 |
|
20 |
AEN |
739 |
HIST |
465 |
|
21 |
CMDY |
726 |
AEN |
464 |
|
22 |
TVLD |
689 |
ESP2 |
459 |
|
23 |
FOOD |
584 |
FOOD |
453 |
|
24 |
CNN |
583 |
AMC |
436 |
|
25 |
ESP2 |
566 |
CORT |
422 |
|
* 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 June 18 |
|
Rank |
Program |
Net |
(000) |
|
1 |
The Closer |
TNT |
6039 |
|
2 |
WWE Entertainment |
USA |
4064 |
|
3 |
Saved |
TNT |
3864 |
|
4 |
WWE Entertainment |
USA |
3595 |
|
5 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2991 |
|
6 |
Fairly Odd Parents |
NICK |
2780 |
|
7 |
Fairly Odd Parents |
NICK |
2709 |
|
8 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2645 |
|
9 |
Drake & Josh |
NICK |
2603 |
|
10 |
Fairly Odd Parents |
NICK |
2597 |
|
11 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2542 |
|
12 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2532 |
|
13 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2520 |
|
14 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2506 |
|
15 |
Fairly Odd Parents |
NICK |
2471 |
|
15 |
Without A Trace |
TNT |
2471 |
|
17 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2454 |
|
18 |
Fairly Odd Parents |
NICK |
2453 |
|
19 |
Without A Trace |
TNT |
2443 |
|
20 |
Law & Order: SVU |
USA |
2431 |
|
21 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2428 |
|
22 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2422 |
|
23 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2418 |
|
24 |
ECW |
SCIF |
2400 |
|
25 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2394 |
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending June 18 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1 |
TBSC |
595 |
ADSM* |
371 |
|
2 |
USA |
589 |
NAN* |
370 |
|
3 |
MTV |
457 |
TBSC |
333 |
|
4 |
TNT |
442 |
NICK |
301 |
|
5 |
SPK |
365 |
TNT |
273 |
|
6 |
DISC |
338 |
MTV |
270 |
|
7 |
VH1 |
335 |
USA |
261 |
|
8 |
CMDY |
323 |
CMDY |
200 |
|
9 |
FX |
303 |
ESPN |
199 |
|
10 |
NAN |
280 |
FX |
188 |
|
* 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 June 18 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1 |
WWE Entertainment |
USA |
1698 |
|
2 |
The Hills |
MTV |
1440 |
|
3 |
WWE Entertainment |
USA |
1425 |
|
4 |
RR/RR Fresh Meat |
MTV |
1375 |
|
5 |
Real World XVII |
MTV |
1183 |
|
6 |
USA/Czech Republic |
ESP2 |
1088 |
|
7 |
The Ultimate Fighter |
SPK |
1020 |
|
8 |
Old School |
TBSC |
1007 |
|
9 |
ECW |
SCIF |
1003 |
|
10 |
Family Guy |
ADSM |
943 |
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-49
Week Ending June 18 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1 |
USA |
1267 |
TNT |
623 |
|
2 |
TBSC |
1175 |
TBSC |
605 |
|
3 |
TNT |
1119 |
NAN* |
605 |
|
4 |
DISC |
757 |
USA |
567 |
|
5 |
SPK |
713 |
ADSM* |
482 |
|
6 |
FX |
614 |
NICK |
468 |
|
7 |
MTV |
585 |
DISC |
393 |
|
8 |
LIF |
562 |
ESPN |
377 |
|
9 |
CMDY |
540 |
LIF |
372 |
|
10 |
AEN |
514 |
FX |
346 |
|
* 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 June 18 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1 |
WWE Entertainment |
USA |
3134 |
|
2 |
The Closer |
TNT |
2630 |
|
3 |
WWE Entertainment |
USA |
2561 |
|
4 |
Saved |
TNT |
2080 |
|
5 |
Deadliest Catch |
DISC |
1924 |
|
6 |
ECW |
SCIF |
1889 |
|
7 |
Bruce Almighty |
USA |
1757 |
|
8 |
USA/Czech Republic |
ESP2 |
1708 |
|
9 |
The 4400 |
USA |
1705 |
|
10 |
RR/RR Fresh Meat |
MTV |
1686 |
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 25-54
Week Ending June 18 |
|
|
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Rank |
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1 |
TNT |
1276 |
TNT |
638 |
|
2 |
USA |
1265 |
USA |
571 |
|
3 |
TBSC |
1079 |
TBSC |
527 |
|
4 |
DISC |
752 |
NAN* |
470 |
|
5 |
SPK |
688 |
LIF |
396 |
|
6 |
LIF |
652 |
DISC |
383 |
|
7 |
FX |
591 |
ESPN |
356 |
|
8 |
HGTV |
568 |
NICK |
356 |
|
9 |
SCIF |
560 |
SPK |
329 |
|
10 |
AEN |
521 |
FX |
307 |
|
* 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 June 18 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1 |
The Closer |
TNT |
3571 |
|
2 |
WWE Entertainment |
USA |
2832 |
|
3 |
Saved |
TNT |
2613 |
|
4 |
WWE Entertainment |
USA |
2397 |
|
5 |
Deadliest Catch |
DISC |
1894 |
|
6 |
The 4400 |
USA |
1705 |
|
7 |
Bruce Almighty |
USA |
1687 |
|
8 |
ECW |
SCIF |
1680 |
|
9 |
The Dead Zone |
USA |
1655 |
|
10 |
Rescue Me |
FX |
1638 |
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
