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stellar 'Dead Zone'
Well-timed second-season premiere is best ever
By Toni Fitzgerald
In a week lacking an original episode of MTV’s “The Osbournes” or a “Sunday Night Football” game on ESPN or even a new HBO showing of “The Sopranos,” other cable networks jostled for the spotlight last week.
USA Networks’ paranormal drama “The Dead Zone” outshone them all.
The Anthony Michael Hall vehicle, based on characters from the 1979 Stephen King novel, became the most-watched second-season premiere ever of an original cable dramatic series.
If that sounds like a fairly narrow category-- it is--rest assured that the folks at USA are crowing for good reason nonetheless.
“Dead Zone” ranked as the most-watched cable show of the night among households (with a 3.2 rating), adults 18-49 (2.2) and adults 25-54 (2.2).
USA did wait until the perfect time to premiere the show.
“Sunday Night Football,” the season-to-date No. 1 in households and every major adult demographic, finished its season the week before, and the Sunday night “Sopranos” ended its run several weeks earlier.
So when “Dead Zone” returned to the air Sunday, it didn’t face nearly as much competition as it would have in the fall.
And although Sunday’s numbers were certainly solid, they didn’t approach those posted by the series premiere.
In its June 16 debut, “Dead Zone” became the most-watched basic cable original series ever with a 4.7 household rating, 4.1 25-54 rating and 3.9 18-49 rating.
Still, “Dead Zone” placed No. 3 last week among 18-49s and fourth among 25-54s. It boosted USA to No. 2 in the weekly 18-49 primetime ratings, and third in 25-54s.
Another network also shattered some records this week. Although USA and Animal Planet are available in a similar number of homes, AP appeals to a much more specialized group and therefore doesn’t usually make big waves in the ratings.
But with the New Year’s Day special “The Future is Wild,” Animal Planet produced its most-watched show ever among households and 25-54s.
The program had a 2.24 household rating, ranking second among 25-54s in Wednesday primetime cable shows. The show depicted a computer-generated image of the future, which apparently will include eight-ton land squids and spiders capable of fighting back against humans.
Again, “Wild” may not have had much cable competition – ABC carried the Sugar Bowl that same night, attracting millions of viewers to broadcast. “Wild” ranked No. 22 for the week among 25-54s on basic cable.
In lieu of an original episode of “The Osbournes” wasted on Tuesday’s New Year’s Eve, MTV opted instead to run an “Osbournes” marathon Saturday afternoon.
Six episodes of the show made the 18-34 top 12, including a Sunday encore show.
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TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS |
||||
|
Rank |
Primetime |
Total Day | ||
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
|
1 |
LIF |
1602 |
NICK |
1318 |
|
2 |
TBS |
1440 |
LIF |
1170 |
|
3 |
NICK |
1360 |
TBS |
970 |
|
4 |
TNT |
1307 |
TOON |
903 |
|
5 |
USA |
1272 |
TNT |
897 |
|
5 |
TOON |
1075 |
ESPN |
802 |
|
7 |
ESPN |
1048 |
USA |
727 |
|
8 |
FAM |
947 |
TVLD |
622 |
|
9 |
TLC |
939 |
MTV |
615 |
|
10 |
MTV |
903 |
AEN |
561 |
|
11 |
AEN |
892 |
TLC |
560 |
|
12 |
TVLD |
885 |
HGTV |
506 |
|
13 |
DISC |
835 |
DISC |
504 |
|
14 |
SCIF |
823 |
FOXN |
493 |
|
15 |
CORT |
732 |
SCIF |
475 |
|
16 |
FOXN |
732 |
CORT |
440 |
|
17 |
TNN |
712 |
HIST |
432 |
|
18 |
HGTV |
701 |
AMC |
421 |
|
19 |
APL |
685 |
CNN |
396 |
|
20 |
AMC |
657 |
TNN |
392 |
|
21 |
HIST |
650 |
FAM |
389 |
|
22 |
CNN |
626 |
FX |
384 |
|
23 |
FX |
528 |
APL |
330 |
|
24 |
CMDY |
506 |
FOOD |
325 |
|
25 |
VH1 |
505 |
BET |
323 |
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
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TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE PROGRAMS |
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|
Rank |
Program |
Net |
(000) |
|
1 |
Outback-Bowl |
ESPN |
5391 |
|
2 |
Peach Bowl |
ESPN |
3445 |
|
3 |
Trading Spaces |
TLC |
3401 |
|
4 |
Dead Zone, The |
USA |
3286 |
|
5 |
Whl U Were Out |
TLC |
3277 |
|
6 |
Payback |
TBS |
3094 |
|
7 |
Bone Collector, The |
USA |
3051 |
|
8 |
Rush Hour |
TBS |
3014 |
|
9 |
The Division |
LIF |
3005 |
|
10 |
WWE Entertainment |
TNN |
2977 |
|
11 |
Trading Spaces |
TLC |
2963 |
|
11 |
NFL Countdown |
ESPN |
2963 |
|
13 |
Seinfeld |
TBS |
2913 |
|
14 |
Payback |
TBS |
2910 |
|
15 |
Wrong Woman,The |
LIF |
2904 |
|
16 |
Friends |
TBS |
2861 |
|
17 |
Trading Spaces |
TLC |
2765 |
|
18 |
Seinfeld |
TBS |
2725 |
|
19 |
Legacy Of Sin |
LIF |
2721 |
|
20 |
Strong Medicine |
LIF |
2689 |
|
21 |
Trading Spaces |
TLC |
2680 |
|
22 |
Future Is Wild |
APL |
2660 |
|
23 |
Wedding Singer, The |
TBS |
2643 |
|
24 |
For The People |
LIF |
2616 |
|
25 |
Money Talks |
TBS |
2595 |
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Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
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TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS |
||||
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
||
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
|
1 |
TBS |
552 |
MTV |
348 |
|
2 |
MTV |
543 |
TBS |
330 |
|
3 |
USA |
391 |
ESPN |
300 |
|
4 |
TNT |
388 |
TNT |
271 |
|
5 |
TLC |
311 |
NICK |
249 |
|
6 |
VH1 |
310 |
LIF |
245 |
|
7 |
ESPN |
303 |
USA |
223 |
|
8 |
FAM |
287 |
TLC |
202 |
|
9 |
DISC |
254 |
TOON |
188 |
|
10 |
CMDY |
231 |
VH1 |
177 |
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Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
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TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS |
|||
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1 |
Outback-Bowl |
ESPN |
1456 |
|
2 |
Osbournes |
MTV |
1262 |
|
3 |
Trading Spaces |
TLC |
1160 |
|
4 |
Osbournes |
MTV |
1130 |
|
5 |
Whl U Were Out |
TLC |
1127 |
|
6 |
Osbournes |
MTV |
1080 |
|
7 |
Real World XII |
MTV |
1062 |
|
8 |
Osbournes |
MTV |
1039 |
|
9 |
WWE Entertainment |
TNN |
1014 |
|
10 |
Dead Zone, The |
USA |
999 |
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
|||
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS |
||||
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
||
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
|
1 |
TBS |
1115 |
TBS |
716 |
|
2 |
USA |
872 |
LIF |
620 |
|
3 |
TNT |
860 |
TNT |
607 |
|
4 |
MTV |
763 |
ESPN |
551 |
|
5 |
LIF |
738 |
NICK |
502 |
|
6 |
TLC |
688 |
USA |
476 |
|
7 |
ESPN |
670 |
MTV |
465 |
|
8 |
SCIF |
656 |
TLC |
409 |
|
9 |
DISC |
567 |
TVLD |
365 |
|
10 |
FAM |
555 |
DISC |
345 |
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Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
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TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS |
|||
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1 |
Outback-Bowl |
ESPN |
2707 |
|
2 |
Trading Spaces |
TLC |
2518 |
|
3 |
Dead Zone, The |
USA |
2327 |
|
4 |
Peach Bowl |
ESPN |
2247 |
|
5 |
Whl U Were Out |
TLC |
2074 |
|
6 |
WWE Entertainment |
TNN |
1989 |
|
7 |
Payback |
TBS |
1962 |
|
8 |
Bone Collector, The |
USA |
1876 |
|
9 |
Osbournes |
MTV |
1835 |
|
10 |
Payback |
TBS |
1798 |
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
|||
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS |
||||
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
||
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
|
1 |
TBS |
1043 |
TBS |
695 |
|
2 |
TNT |
940 |
LIF |
680 |
|
3 |
USA |
891 |
TNT |
642 |
|
4 |
LIF |
890 |
ESPN |
531 |
|
5 |
SCIF |
756 |
NICK |
484 |
|
6 |
ESPN |
714 |
USA |
462 |
|
7 |
TLC |
712 |
TVLD |
460 |
|
8 |
TVLD |
613 |
TLC |
408 |
|
9 |
DISC |
609 |
SCIF |
393 |
|
10 |
TNN |
530 |
DISC |
363 |
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Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
||||
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TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS |
|||
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1 |
Outback-Bowl |
ESPN |
3011 |
|
2 |
Peach Bowl |
ESPN |
2570 |
|
3 |
Trading Spaces |
TLC |
2544 |
|
4 |
Dead Zone, The |
USA |
2203 |
|
5 |
Whl U Were Out |
TLC |
2142 |
|
6 |
Payback |
TBS |
1992 |
|
7 |
Bone Collector, The |
USA |
1791 |
|
8 |
Rush Hour |
TBS |
1735 |
|
9 |
The Division |
LIF |
1731 |
|
10 |
WWE Entertainment |
TNN |
1675 |
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
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January 8, 2003© 2003 Media Life
-Toni Fitzgerald is a staff writer for Media Life
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