HBO’s “Entourage” seems to have everything going for it: good-looking actors, critical cachet and major buzz, with the media dubbing it this summer’s breakout hit.
The only thing the show does not have, oddly enough, is numbers. While "Entourage” is up 29 percent over last season, it still only averages 2.4 million viewers.
That’s compared to the 8.9 million that HBO’s “Sopranos” averaged in its most recent season, and that's down from the previous year. It’s not even half the more than 6 million that “Sex and the City” averaged in its final season two years ago. In fact, it’s far less than the 3.8 million the network’s “Rome” drew in its debut a year ago, and that show has been canceled following the upcoming second season.
Those 2.4 million viewers are hardly enough to justify the huge amounts of attention “Entourage” receives in the press. But that certainly is not an issue for HBO, and in some ways the show almost defines an HBO hit: cachet, cachet, cachet. Never mind the numbers.
HBO is in the business of attracting new, paying subscribers while holding onto existing subs, and that is driven by cachet. How many people are actually watching “Entourage,” or any other HBO show for that matter, lends nothing to that effort. Since the network carries no advertising, audience size in itself matters little.
What does matter is the perception of hipness.
“Entourage” is currently the one HBO show advancing that perception, but it's doing it in a big way. Already this summer, the “Entourage” boys have appeared on the cover of Entertainment Weekly and received writeups in TV Guide and Time, which referred to the show as a boutique hit.
Other media are less restrained. There are some 700 articles about “Entourage” available via Google News, and nearly a quarter refer to the show as a hit.
This is all helping HBO enormously, despite the flops of “Lucky Louie,” “Carnivale” and “K Street” over the past four years. Its subscriber base rose 2.6 percent during first-quarter 2006, to 28.2 million subscribers, according to Kagan Research.
And while HBO, a unit of Time Warner, does not give out money figures, some estimate that the network has seen profits of $1 billion over the past year. That's through subscriptions, which average $10 to $15 per month, but also DVD sales of “Sopranos,” “SATC” and other shows.
"Entourage" follows a rising Hollywood superstar and his three best friends from back home as they navigate the absurdities of the movie industry and encounter lots of celebrities along the way. It's executive produced by Mark Wahlberg.
Meanwhile, in other cable ratings for the week ended July 30:
Top five networks in primetime (18-49s): USA, TBS, TNT, FX, Discovery
Top five networks in primetime (total viewers): USA, TNT, TBS, Fox News, Lifetime
Top movie (18-49s): USA's "Bad Boys II" (Sunday, 6 p.m.) 2.07 million
Top sporting event (total viewers): ESPN's "Angels v. Red Sox" (Sunday, 8 p.m.) 2.96 million
Shows making the top 10 among 18-34s, 18-49s and 25-54s: USA's "WWE Entertainment" (Monday, 9 p.m.); USA's "WWE Entertainment" (Monday, 10 p.m.); FX's "Rescue Me" (Tuesday, 10 p.m .), USA's "Bad Boys II" (Sunday, 6 p.m.)
Show on the rise: Friday block, 8 p.m., Disney Channel. Three-way crossover episodes between “That’s So Raven,” “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody” and “Hannah Montana” averaged 5.28 million viewers, ranking No. 1 on basic cable for the night for total viewers. Disney also did well among kids 6-11 (2.33 million) and tweens 9-14 (2.17 million), ranking No. 1 for the night in those demos as well.
Show on the decline: “Road Rules/Real World: Fresh Meat,” 10 p.m. Monday, MTV. Last week’s No. 1 show among adults 18-34 dipped 18 percent week to week, from 1.7 million viewers to 1.4 million, slipping behind timeslot competitor “WWE Entertainment” on USA for No. 2.
|
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Ranked on Household Rating
Week Ending July 30 |
|
Rank |
Primetime |
Total Day |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1 |
USA |
2119 |
NICK |
1785 |
|
2 |
TNT |
1781 |
NAN* |
1170 |
|
3 |
TBSC |
1417 |
TOON |
1067 |
|
4 |
LIF |
1316 |
USA |
1001 |
|
5 |
FOXN |
1263 |
TNT |
991 |
|
6 |
TOON |
1243 |
ADSM* |
904 |
|
7 |
NAN |
1122 |
FOXN |
854 |
|
8 |
ESPN |
1073 |
LIF |
804 |
|
9 |
MTV |
976 |
TBSC |
781 |
|
10 |
FX |
946 |
MTV |
660 |
|
11 |
HALL |
934 |
HALL |
571 |
|
12 |
HGTV |
917 |
DISC |
565 |
|
13 |
DISC |
911 |
FX |
543 |
|
14 |
SPK |
891 |
ESPN |
536 |
|
15 |
SCIF |
883 |
FAM |
528 |
|
16 |
AMC |
855 |
CNN |
518 |
|
17 |
AEN |
826 |
HGTV |
512 |
|
18 |
CMDY |
807 |
AEN |
506 |
|
19 |
FAM |
797 |
CMDY |
501 |
|
20 |
TVLD |
787 |
FOOD |
500 |
|
21 |
HIST |
763 |
TVLD |
493 |
|
22 |
CNN |
696 |
HIST |
474 |
|
23 |
CORT |
690 |
SPK |
466 |
|
24 |
TLC |
659 |
AMC |
435 |
|
25 |
FOOD |
652 |
CORT |
416 |
|
* 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 July 30 |
|
Rank |
Program |
Net |
(000) |
|
1 |
The Closer |
TNT |
4922 |
|
2 |
Monk |
USA |
3668 |
|
3 |
WWE Entertainment |
USA |
3661 |
|
4 |
WWE Entertainment |
USA |
3210 |
|
5 |
Psych |
USA |
3044 |
|
6 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
3000 |
|
7 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2826 |
|
8 |
Fairly Odd Parents |
NICK |
2797 |
|
9 |
Fairly Odd Parents |
NICK |
2712 |
|
10 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2668 |
|
11 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2616 |
|
12 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2574 |
|
13 |
Fairly Odd Parents |
NICK |
2565 |
|
14 |
Fairly Odd Parents |
NICK |
2530 |
|
15 |
Fairly Odd Parents |
NICK |
2525 |
|
16 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2522 |
|
17 |
Fairly Odd Parents |
NICK |
2521 |
|
18 |
Fairly Odd Parents |
NICK |
2483 |
|
19 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2479 |
|
19 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2472 |
|
21 |
Law & Order |
TNT |
2449 |
|
22 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2433 |
|
23 |
Drake & Josh |
NICK |
2423 |
|
24 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2415 |
|
25 |
Law & Order: SVU |
USA |
2410 |
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending July 30 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1 |
USA |
565 |
NICK |
369 |
|
2 |
MTV |
505 |
ADSM* |
355 |
|
3 |
TBSC |
446 |
NAN* |
328 |
|
4 |
FX |
425 |
MTV |
297 |
|
5 |
CMDY |
392 |
TBSC |
284 |
|
6 |
TNT |
350 |
USA |
268 |
|
7 |
DISC |
306 |
TNT |
258 |
|
8 |
SPK |
296 |
CMDY |
218 |
|
9 |
ESPN |
282 |
FX |
214 |
|
10 |
LIF |
275 |
DISC |
184 |
|
* 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 July 30 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1 |
WWE Entertainment |
USA |
1429 |
|
2 |
RW/RR Fresh Meat |
MTV |
1405 |
|
3 |
Real World XVII |
MTV |
1367 |
|
4 |
Project Runway |
BRAV |
1361 |
|
5 |
My Super Sweet Sixteen |
MTV |
1228 |
|
6 |
Bad Boys Il |
USA |
1193 |
|
7 |
WWE Entertainment |
USA |
1182 |
|
8 |
The Hills |
MTV |
1180 |
|
9 |
Rescue Me |
FX |
1016 |
|
10 |
Family Guy |
TBSC |
959 |
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-49
Week Ending July 30 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1 |
USA |
1306 |
USA |
591 |
|
2 |
TBSC |
949 |
TNT |
572 |
|
3 |
TNT |
927 |
NAN* |
571 |
|
4 |
FX |
750 |
NICK |
568 |
|
5 |
DISC |
707 |
TBSC |
537 |
|
6 |
LIF |
676 |
ADSM* |
483 |
|
7 |
MTV |
655 |
LIF |
435 |
|
8 |
CMDY |
645 |
FX |
400 |
|
9 |
SPK |
620 |
DISC |
398 |
|
10 |
ESPN |
605 |
MTV |
381 |
|
* 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 July 30 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1 |
WWE Entertainment |
USA |
2606 |
|
2 |
WWE Entertainment |
USA |
2292 |
|
3 |
The Closer |
TNT |
2170 |
|
4 |
Bad Boys Il |
USA |
2074 |
|
5 |
Project Runway |
BRAV |
2040 |
|
6 |
Rescue Me |
FX |
1885 |
|
7 |
The 4400 |
USA |
1840 |
|
8 |
Psych |
USA |
1839 |
|
9 |
Monk |
USA |
1790 |
|
10 |
RW/RR Fresh Meat |
MTV |
1771 |
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 25-54
Week Ending July 30 |
|
|
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Rank |
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1 |
USA |
1349 |
USA |
593 |
|
2 |
TNT |
1053 |
TNT |
582 |
|
3 |
TBSC |
917 |
TBSC |
472 |
|
4 |
LIF |
706 |
LIF |
451 |
|
5 |
DISC |
700 |
NAN* |
439 |
|
6 |
FX |
664 |
NICK |
414 |
|
7 |
SPK |
625 |
DISC |
389 |
|
8 |
SCIF |
621 |
FX |
350 |
|
9 |
ESPN |
617 |
FOXN |
341 |
|
10 |
AEN |
578 |
AEN |
323 |
|
* 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 July 30 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1 |
The Closer |
TNT |
2723 |
|
2 |
WWE Entertainment |
USA |
2366 |
|
3 |
Monk |
USA |
2346 |
|
4 |
WWE Entertainment |
USA |
2186 |
|
5 |
Psych |
USA |
2158 |
|
6 |
The 4400 |
USA |
2003 |
|
7 |
Rescue Me |
FX |
1806 |
|
8 |
Project Runway |
BRAV |
1798 |
|
9 |
House |
USA |
1756 |
|
10 |
Bad Boys Il |
USA |
1739 |
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
