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Jessica and Ashlee,
perfect together
Simpson sisters: If one is good, two sure is better
By Diego Vasquez
MTV's one-joke celebrity reality show “Newlyweds: Nick
and Jessica” seemed to be cast from the same quick-to-fizzle mold as "The
Osbournes," which peaked early and burned fast in just 12 months.
But surprisingly, "Newlyweds" has remained just as popular in
season three. What's perhaps more surprising is that it has enough muscle to launch what
seems an even simpler concept for a show, one about Jessica Simpson's little sister,
Ashlee, and her music business career that debuted last month.
The Simpson gals seem so durable that the question may even become: Can
Ashlee build enough fans to eventually pass her older sister?
Since “Newlyweds” launched in its Wednesday 10 p.m. slot and the
“Ashlee Simpson Show” began airing right after in the week ending June 20, both
shows have been on the rise.
Among viewers 18-34, one of MTV’s favorite demos, “Newlyweds”
has gone from 1.37 million viewers for the season premiere to 1.63 million in its second
week and 1.88 million last week.
“Ashlee’s” rise has been similar. In its first week, the show
failed to crack the top 10 cable shows in 18-34s. But in its second week it drew 1.18
million viewers, and last week that number rose to 1.34 million.
"Newlyweds" followed a similar growth path last summer,
eventually surpassing "Osbournes" as MTV's most popular show among young adults.
In her first season, “Ashlee’s” growth is impressive, but a
little sister takeover could be months away. The show’s viewers 18-34 did grow 13.5
percent from week two to week three but “Newlyweds” grew by 15.3 percent during
the same period and, as “Ashlees’” lead-in, is mostly responsible for
little sis’s rise.
Still, Ashlee herself has been getting enough publicity that by the time the
brief runs end later this summer, she could at least pull even.
In other cable ratings, there were two winners for last week’s
second-season finale of “Celebrity Poker Showdown”—Maura Tierney from
“E.R.,” who won $100,000 to be donated to her favorite charity, and Bravo, whose
show posted its best-ever numbers.
Last week’s finale, which also included Rosario Dawson, Dule Hill,
Lauren Graham and Michael Ian Black, grew by 41 percent among 18-49s over the previous
week and 52 percent in 25-54s.
Compared with its second-quarter Thursday night averages, the “Celebrity
Poker Showdown” finale was up 129 percent in 18-49s and 104 percent in 25-54s.
Elsewhere, BET's annual awards show did well, though ratings were down
slightly from last year.
With Janet Jackson headlining, the “BET Awards” attracted 3.27
million viewers 18-49. That was good enough to put it at No. 1 for the week by a wide
margin (the finale of MTV’s “Real World: San Diego” was No. 2 with 2.49
million viewers), although it was slightly below last year’s 3.35 million viewers in
the demo.
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Ranked on Household Rating
Week Ending July 4 |
Rank |
Primetime |
Total Day |
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
| 1 |
TNT |
1879 |
NICK* |
1701 |
| 2 |
NICK |
1634 |
TOON |
1062 |
| 3 |
USA |
1586 |
TNT |
994 |
| 4 |
LIF |
1213 |
LIF* |
801 |
| 5 |
TOON |
1209 |
USA |
782 |
| 6 |
NAN* |
1205 |
TBSC |
681 |
| 7 |
TBSC |
1110 |
FOXN |
676 |
| 8 |
FOXN |
1046 |
MTV |
617 |
| 9 |
FX |
924 |
FAM* |
523 |
| 10 |
BET |
870 |
ESPN |
510 |
| 11 |
HIST |
836 |
FX |
489 |
| 12 |
MTV |
834 |
AEN |
487 |
| 13 |
AMC |
796 |
HIST |
472 |
| 14 |
AEN |
759 |
AMC |
441 |
| 15 |
DISC |
755 |
TLC |
410 |
| 16 |
HGTV |
745 |
DISC |
407 |
| 17 |
ESPN |
733 |
HGTV |
407 |
| 18 |
SCIF |
712 |
CORT |
398 |
| 19 |
FAM |
699 |
BET |
391 |
| 20 |
TLC |
683 |
CNN |
381 |
| 21 |
SPK |
640 |
TVLD |
381 |
| 22 |
CORT |
604 |
FOOD |
358 |
| 23 |
CNN |
592 |
SCIF |
357 |
| 24 |
HALL |
571 |
CMDY |
349 |
| 25 |
TVLD |
561 |
HALL |
331 |
| Source:
Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE PROGRAMS
Ranked on Households
Week Ending July 4 |
| Rank |
Program |
Net |
(000) |
1 |
BET Awards Show |
BET |
3632 |
2 |
Law & Order |
TNT |
3503 |
3 |
WWE Entertainment |
SPK |
3447 |
4 |
Law & Order |
TNT |
3045 |
5 |
WWE Entertainment |
SPK |
2949 |
6 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2881 |
7 |
Law & Order |
TNT |
2878 |
8 |
Real World XIV |
MTV |
2876 |
9 |
Homicide: Life on
the Street |
TNT |
2847 |
10 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2734 |
11 |
Newlyweds: Nick
& Jessica |
MTV |
2726 |
12 |
Law & Order |
TNT |
2707 |
13 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2697 |
14 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2595 |
15 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2542 |
16 |
Fairly Odd Parents |
NICK |
2537 |
17 |
Fairly Odd Parents |
NICK |
2524 |
18 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2514 |
19 |
Law & Order: SVU |
USA |
2478 |
20 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2472 |
21 |
Fairly Odd Parents |
NICK |
2457 |
22 |
Fairly Odd Parents |
NICK |
2454 |
23 |
The Amanda Show |
NICK |
2429 |
24 |
Danny Phantom |
NICK |
2428 |
25 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2408 |
| Source:
Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending July 4 |
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
| 1 |
MTV |
466 |
NICK* |
292 |
| 2 |
BET |
429 |
MTV |
276 |
| 3 |
TBSC |
389 |
TBSC |
273 |
| 4 |
FX |
345 |
TOON |
232 |
| 5 |
CMDY |
333 |
USA |
210 |
| 6 |
USA |
326 |
FX |
203 |
| 7 |
DISC |
301 |
TNT |
198 |
| 8 |
TNT |
292 |
LIF* |
196 |
| 9 |
AMC |
278 |
ESPN |
188 |
| 10 |
NAN* |
249 |
BET |
186 |
| Source:
Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending July 4 |
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
| 1 |
Real World XIV |
MTV |
2039 |
| 2 |
BET Awards Show |
BET |
1985 |
| 3 |
Newlyweds: Nick
& Jessica |
MTV |
1879 |
| 4 |
The Ashlee Simpson
Show |
MTV |
1341 |
| 5 |
WWE Entertainment |
SPK |
1250 |
| 6 |
Reno 911! |
CMDY |
1137 |
| 7 |
Sex And The City |
TBSC |
1069 |
| 8 |
Sex And The City |
TBSC |
1029 |
| 9 |
South Park |
CMDY |
1026 |
| 10 |
WWE Entertainment |
SPK |
1020 |
| Source:
Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-49
Week Ending July 4 |
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
| 1 |
USA |
890 |
TNT |
516 |
| 2 |
TNT |
864 |
TBSC |
480 |
| 3 |
TBSC |
754 |
USA |
471 |
| 4 |
FX |
753 |
NICK* |
459 |
| 5 |
BET |
714 |
LIF* |
453 |
| 6 |
LIF |
630 |
FX |
386 |
| 7 |
MTV |
613 |
MTV |
355 |
| 8 |
DISC |
587 |
TOON |
333 |
| 9 |
AMC |
584 |
ESPN |
333 |
| 10 |
CMDY |
497 |
DISC |
296 |
| Source:
Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS
Adults 18-49
Week Ending July 4 |
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
| 1 |
BET Awards Show |
BET |
3270 |
| 2 |
Real World XIV |
MTV |
2493 |
| 3 |
Newlyweds: Nick
& Jessica |
MTV |
2456 |
| 4 |
WWE Entertainment |
SPK |
2307 |
| 5 |
WWE Entertainment |
SPK |
2109 |
| 6 |
Nip Tuck |
FX |
2028 |
| 7 |
Sex And The City |
TBSC |
1850 |
| 8 |
Sex And The City |
TBSC |
1821 |
| 9 |
The Ashlee Simpson
Show |
MTV |
1788 |
| 10 |
Law & Order |
TNT |
1683 |
| Source:
Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 25-54
Week Ending July 4 |
| |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
| Rank |
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
| 1 |
TNT |
1059 |
TNT |
595 |
| 2 |
USA |
974 |
USA |
469 |
| 3 |
TBSC |
724 |
LIF* |
461 |
| 4 |
FX |
723 |
TBSC |
417 |
| 5 |
LIF |
649 |
NICK* |
390 |
| 6 |
DISC |
605 |
FX |
349 |
| 7 |
BET |
583 |
DISC |
295 |
| 8 |
AMC |
552 |
ESPN |
287 |
| 9 |
SCIF |
548 |
AEN |
266 |
| 10 |
SPK |
472 |
AMC |
264 |
| Source:
Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS
Adults 25-54
Week Ending July 4 |
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
| 1 |
BET Awards Show |
BET |
2650 |
| 2 |
WWE Entertainment |
SPK |
2095 |
| 3 |
WWE Entertainment |
SPK |
2068 |
| 4 |
Nip Tuck |
FX |
1983 |
| 5 |
Newlyweds: Nick
& Jessica |
MTV |
1718 |
| 6 |
Monk |
USA |
1702 |
| 7 |
Law & Order |
TNT |
1664 |
| 8 |
Law & Order |
TNT |
1654 |
| 9 |
Homicide: Life O/T
Street |
TNT |
1638 |
| 10 |
Sex And The City |
TBSC |
1635 |
| Source:
Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
|
July 8, 2004
© 2004 Media Life
-
Diego Vasquez is a staff writer for Media Life.
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