|
|
less than red hot
Discovery sea saga falls short of 'Dinosaur' pull
By Mike Jasik
The Discovery Channel has become known for its big-draw nature documentaries.
Its "Walking with Dinosaurs" special in April 2000 was the most-watched non-sports cable offering for the 1999-2000 TV season, garnering a huge 8.0 rating in households.
The next closest was its "Raising the Mammoth," which broke all sorts of records when it premiered the month before with a 7.8 household rating.
The spectacular results of those documentaries may have raised similar expectations for last Sunday's "Blue Planet: Seas of Life."
But the show, though the highest-rated basic cable program of the night, with a 3.6 household rating, didn't come close to garnering the audiences of "Dinosaurs" or "Mammoth."
The Sunday 8 p.m. debut finished fifth for the week in households, seventh in adults 18-34, fourth in 18-49s and third in 25-54s. The 10 p.m. repeat came in ninth in households, eighth in adults 18-34, sixth in 18-49s, and fifth in 25-54s.
Its performance wasn't enough to budge Discovery from the No. 7 spot in networks ranked by primetime households from the same spot a week before.
The highest-rated program for the week was the original movie "Video Voyeur: The Susan Wilson Story," which put Lifetime back on top among adults 18-49 and 25-54 during primetime and second place among adults 18-34.
The story of a woman working to regain her life after learning that a trusted neighbor had secretly installed video equipment in her home tied for the fifth-highest-rated original movie in Lifetime's history.
"Video" also came in first place in adults 25-54, third place in 18-49s and fifth place in adults 18-34 in primetime for the week.
The movie's big numbers were part of another round of good news for the women's network, which came in first place in primetime and tied for first place in total day for the month of January. This is only the third time that has happened in five years.
More important, Lifetime was one of the few cable networks to log year-to-year ratings increases.
Its primetime household rating this January is up 21 percent over Jan. 2001.
Among the top-10 networks, USA Network and TNT were both down 5 percent, TBS slid 6 percent, Nickelodeon and Discovery stayed flat, Cartoon Network slipped 12 percent, and A&E dropped 25 percent.
ESPN and Fox News were the other exceptions, with gains of 30 and 38 percent, respectively.
The ratings jump is especially meaningful for Fox News, which has officially swiped the cable news crown from CNN, though it is available in nine million fewer homes.
Fox News posted a 1.2 primetime household rating and 945,000 viewers for the week, while CNN only managed a 0.9 rating and 749,000 watchers. In total day, Fox News brought in a 0.7 rating and 551,000 viewers; CNN a 0.6 and 493,000.
Meanwhile, MTV's audience for its newest "Real World" franchise continues to grow.
This week's episode came in seventh in households, drawing a 3.6 rating, compared to its fifth-place finish last week that scored a smidgeon below at 3.5. The fourth installment from Chicago also placed second in adults 18-34, fifth in 18-49s and tenth in 25-54s.
The only movie to make it onto the top-10, TNT's "Ronin," finished in tenth place in households and 18-34s, ninth in 18-49s, and sixth in 25-54s.
|
Top-25
Basic Cable Ad-Supported Networks |
|||||||
|
PRIMETIME |
TOTAL DAY |
||||||
| # | Net |
Rtg |
(000) |
# | Net |
Rtg |
(000) |
|
1 |
LIF |
2.4 |
2073 |
1 |
NICK |
1.4 |
1215 |
|
2 |
TBS |
1.7 |
1485 |
2 |
LIF |
1.4 |
1163 |
|
3 |
USA |
1.7 |
1478 |
3 |
TBS |
1.1 |
955 |
|
4 |
NICK |
1.7 |
1458 |
4 |
TOON |
1.2 |
937 |
|
5 |
TNT |
1.5 |
1295 |
5 |
TNT |
0.9 |
767 |
|
6 |
TOON |
1.6 |
1280 |
6 |
USA |
0.9 |
735 |
|
7 |
DISC |
1.5 |
1253 |
7 |
A&E |
0.8 |
663 |
|
8 |
A&E |
1.1 |
965 |
8 |
DISC |
0.7 |
602 |
|
9 |
ESPN |
1.1 |
958 |
9 |
ESPN |
0.6 |
553 |
|
10 |
FOXN |
1.2 |
945 |
10 |
FOXN |
0.7 |
551 |
|
11 |
MTV |
1.0 |
854 |
11 |
TLC |
0.6 |
502 |
|
12 |
TNN |
1.0 |
829 |
12 |
CNN |
0.6 |
493 |
|
13 |
TLC |
1.0 |
819 |
13 |
MTV |
0.6 |
469 |
|
14 |
HIST |
1.0 |
790 |
14 |
HIST |
0.5 |
424 |
|
15 |
CNN |
0.9 |
749 |
15 |
FX |
0.6 |
414 |
|
16 |
AMC |
0.8 |
688 |
16 |
TNN |
0.5 |
413 |
|
17 |
FAM |
0.8 |
673 |
17 |
AMC |
0.4 |
370 |
|
18 |
HGTV |
0.8 |
632 |
18 |
HGTV |
0.5 |
366 |
|
19 |
TVLD |
0.9 |
622 |
19 |
TVLD |
0.5 |
335 |
|
20 |
FX |
0.8 |
615 |
20 |
CMDY |
0.4 |
310 |
|
21 |
CORT |
0.8 |
567 |
21 |
WGNC |
0.5 |
280 |
|
22 |
HALL |
1.2 |
520 |
22 |
CORT |
0.4 |
276 |
|
23 |
CMDY |
0.6 |
507 |
23 |
SCIF |
0.4 |
271 |
|
24 |
EN |
0.7 |
502 |
23 |
EN |
0.4 |
271 |
|
25 |
SCIF |
0.6 |
440 |
25 |
FOOD |
0.4 |
257 |
| Source:
Turner Entertainment Research from
Nielsen Media Research data
|
|||||||
| Top-25
Basic Cable Ad-Supported Programs Households - Ranked on Audience Week of January 21-27, 2002 |
|||||||
| # | Date | Program | Net | Day |
Rtg |
Shr |
(000) |
|
1 |
1/21/2002 |
Video Voyeur |
LIF |
Mon |
5.1 |
7.7 |
4334 |
|
2 |
1/21/2002 |
WWF Entertainment |
TNN |
Mon |
4.8 |
7.8 |
4060 |
|
3 |
1/21/2002 |
WWF Entertainment |
TNN |
Mon |
4.4 |
6.4 |
3774 |
|
4 |
1/21/2002 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
Mon |
3.9 |
5.6 |
3285 |
|
5 |
1/27/2002 |
Blue Planet |
DISC |
Sun |
3.6 |
5.1 |
3082 |
|
6 |
1/21/2002 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
Mon |
3.6 |
5.1 |
3078 |
|
7 |
1/22/2002 |
Real World XI |
MTV |
Tue |
3.6 |
5.6 |
2990 |
|
8 |
1/21/2002 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
Mon |
3.4 |
5.3 |
2937 |
|
9 |
1/27/2002 |
Blue Planet |
DISC |
Sun |
3.4 |
5.3 |
2912 |
|
10 |
1/27/2002 |
Ronin |
TNT |
Sun |
3.3 |
4.8 |
2849 |
|
11 |
1/27/2002 |
Video Voyeur |
LIF |
Sun |
3.2 |
4.9 |
2695 |
|
12 |
1/27/2002 |
Sister Act |
TBS |
Sun |
3.1 |
4.5 |
2678 |
|
13 |
1/21/2002 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
Mon |
3.1 |
4.9 |
2636 |
|
14 |
1/27/2002 |
Matter Of Justice,Pt.II |
LIF |
Sun |
2.9 |
5.2 |
2487 |
|
15 |
1/22/2002 |
Thin Red Line (Pt 1), The |
USA |
Tue |
2.8 |
4.0 |
2389 |
|
16 |
1/21/2002 |
Jag |
USA |
Mon |
2.8 |
4.4 |
2389 |
|
17 |
1/27/2002 |
Strong Medicine |
LIF |
Sun |
2.7 |
4.0 |
2320 |
|
18 |
1/24/2002 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
Thu |
2.7 |
5.6 |
2290 |
|
19 |
1/27/2002 |
Matilda |
TBS |
Sun |
2.6 |
4.5 |
2288 |
|
20 |
1/26/2002 |
Rugrats |
NICK |
Sat |
2.7 |
6.7 |
2272 |
|
21 |
1/26/2002 |
Fairly Odd Parents |
NICK |
Sat |
2.7 |
7.5 |
2268 |
|
22 |
1/21/2002 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
Mon |
2.7 |
4.5 |
2266 |
|
23 |
1/26/2002 |
When Husbands Cheat |
LIF |
Sat |
2.6 |
5.7 |
2240 |
|
24 |
1/21/2002 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
Mon |
2.6 |
5.2 |
2188 |
|
25 |
1/21/2002 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
Mon |
2.5 |
4.8 |
2158 |
| Source:
Turner Entertainment Research from
Nielsen Media Research data
|
|||||||
| Top-10
Basic Cable Ad-Supported Networks Adults 18-34 - Ranked on Audience Week of January 21-27, 2002 |
|||||
|
PRIMETIME |
TOTAL DAY |
||||
| # | Net |
(000) |
# | Net |
(000) |
| 1 |
TBS |
579 |
1 |
TBS |
345 |
| 2 |
LIF |
426 |
2 |
LIF |
257 |
| 3 |
MTV |
419 |
3 |
MTV |
232 |
| 4 |
TNT |
375 |
4 |
NICK |
228 |
| 5 |
USA |
356 |
5 |
TNT |
219 |
| 6 |
TNN |
321 |
6 |
TLC |
202 |
| 7 |
DISC |
316 |
7 |
ESPN |
196 |
| 8 |
NICK |
307 |
8 |
USA |
196 |
| 9 |
ESPN |
290 |
9 |
TOON |
186 |
| 10 |
TLC |
290 |
10 |
CMDY |
153 |
| Source:
Turner Entertainment Research from
Nielsen Media Research data
|
|||||
|
Top-10 Basic
Cable Ad-Supported Programs |
|||||
| # | Date | Program | Net | Day |
(000) |
| 1 |
1/21/2002 |
WWF Entertainment |
TNN |
Mon |
2227 |
| 2 |
1/22/2002 |
Real World XI |
MTV |
Tue |
1948 |
| 3 |
1/21/2002 |
WWF Entertainment |
TNN |
Mon |
1893 |
| 4 |
1/23/2002 |
South Park |
CMDY |
Wed |
1323 |
| 5 |
1/21/2002 |
Video Voyeur |
LIF |
Mon |
1277 |
| 6 |
1/23/2002 |
Friends |
TBS |
Wed |
1018 |
| 7 |
1/27/2002 |
Blue Planet |
DISC |
Sun |
990 |
| 8 |
1/27/2002 |
Blue Planet |
DISC |
Sun |
963 |
| 9 |
1/26/2002 |
Trading Spaces |
TLC |
Sat |
914 |
| 10 |
1/27/2002 |
Ronin |
TNT |
Sun |
877 |
| Source:
Turner Entertainment Research from
Nielsen Media Research data
|
|||||
| Top-10
Basic Cable Ad-Supported Networks Adults 18-49 - Ranked on Audience Week of January 21-27, 2002 |
|||||
|
PRIMETIME |
TOTAL DAY |
||||
| # | Net |
(000) |
# | Net |
(000) |
| 1 |
LIF |
1176 |
1 |
TBS |
637 |
| 2 |
TBS |
1062 |
2 |
LIF |
634 |
| 3 |
USA |
972 |
3 |
TNT |
519 |
| 4 |
TNT |
902 |
4 |
USA |
474 |
| 5 |
DISC |
848 |
5 |
NICK |
434 |
| 6 |
TNN |
678 |
6 |
TLC |
392 |
| 7 |
TLC |
664 |
7 |
DISC |
374 |
| 8 |
NICK |
586 |
8 |
ESPN |
362 |
| 9 |
MTV |
582 |
9 |
TNN |
326 |
| 10 |
ESPN |
577 |
10 |
FX |
323 |
| Source:
Turner Entertainment Research from
Nielsen Media Research data
|
|||||
| Top-10
Basic Cable Ad-Supported Programs Adults 18-49 - Ranked on Audience Week of January 21-27, 2002 |
|||||
| # | Date | Program | Net | Day |
(000) |
| 1 |
1/21/2002 |
WWF Entertainment |
TNN |
Mon |
3700 |
| 2 |
1/21/2002 |
WWF Entertainment |
TNN |
Mon |
3249 |
| 3 |
1/21/2002 |
Video Voyeur |
LIF |
Mon |
2885 |
| 4 |
1/27/2002 |
Blue Planet |
DISC |
Sun |
2673 |
| 5 |
1/22/2002 |
Real World XI |
MTV |
Tue |
2605 |
| 6 |
1/27/2002 |
Blue Planet |
DISC |
Sun |
2411 |
| 7 |
1/26/2002 |
Trading Spaces |
TLC |
Sat |
2195 |
| 8 |
1/27/2002 |
Video Voyeur |
LIF |
Sun |
2078 |
| 9 |
1/27/2002 |
Ronin |
TNT |
Sun |
2056 |
| 10 |
1/23/2002 |
South Park |
CMDY |
Wed |
1732 |
| Source:
Turner Entertainment Research from
Nielsen Media Research data
|
|||||
| Top-10
Basic Cable Ad-Supported Networks Adults 25-54 - Ranked on Audience Week of January 21-27, 2002 |
|||||
|
PRIMETIME |
TOTAL DAY |
||||
| # | Net |
(000) |
# | Net |
(000) |
| 1 |
LIF |
1328 |
1 |
LIF |
707 |
| 2 |
USA |
1091 |
2 |
TBS |
586 |
| 3 |
TBS |
1010 |
3 |
TNT |
560 |
| 4 |
TNT |
970 |
4 |
USA |
493 |
| 5 |
DISC |
929 |
5 |
NICK |
417 |
| 6 |
TLC |
676 |
6 |
DISC |
411 |
| 7 |
TNN |
649 |
7 |
TLC |
378 |
| 8 |
ESPN |
633 |
8 |
ESPN |
347 |
| 9 |
NICK |
579 |
9 |
A&E |
342 |
| 10 |
HIST |
565 |
10 |
TNN |
320 |
| Source:
Turner Entertainment Research from
Nielsen Media Research data
|
|||||
| Top-10
Basic Cable Ad-Supported Programs Adults 25-54 - Ranked on Audience Week Ending January 13, 2002 |
|||||
| # | Date | Program | Net | Day |
(000) |
| 1 |
1/21/2002 |
Video Voyeur |
LIF |
Mon |
3132 |
| 2 |
1/21/2002 |
WWF Entertainment |
TNN |
Mon |
3074 |
| 3 |
1/27/2002 |
Blue Planet |
DISC |
Sun |
2814 |
| 4 |
1/21/2002 |
WWF Entertainment |
TNN |
Mon |
2804 |
| 5 |
1/27/2002 |
Blue Planet |
DISC |
Sun |
2493 |
| 6 |
1/27/2002 |
Ronin |
TNT |
Sun |
2196 |
| 7 |
1/26/2002 |
Trading Spaces |
TLC |
Sat |
2194 |
| 8 |
1/27/2002 |
Video Voyeur |
LIF |
Sun |
2158 |
| 9 |
1/22/2002 |
Thin Red Line (Pt 1), The |
USA |
Tue |
1869 |
| 10 |
1/22/2002 |
Real World XI |
MTV |
Tue |
1732 |
| Source:
Turner Entertainment Research from
Nielsen Media Research data
|
|||||
January 31, 2002 © 2002 Media Life
-Mike Jasik is a staff writer for Media Life.
Printer-Friendly
Version | Send
to a Friend
Cover Page | Contact
Us
