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Cable recap

On cable, it’s life as a trainwreck

That's what viewers want to see with shows like 'Honey Boo Boo'

By Toni Fitzgerald

September 19, 2012

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The top reality shows on broadcast are all competition-based. “American Idol” finds the best singer, “Dancing with the Stars” finds the best dancer, “Hell’s Kitchen” finds the best cook.

But on cable it’s very different. The top cable reality shows can be summed up in one word: trainwrecks.

The worse the subjects’ problems, it seems, the higher the viewership, and that was especially true last week, when E!’s “Keeping up with the Kardashians,” MTV’s “Teen Mom” and TLC’s “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo” finished among the top shows on cable in adults 18-49.

The Kardashians’ seventh-season finale hit a season high with 2.33 million viewers in the demo, according to Nielsen, up a third over its season average as Kourtney had her baby.

Kim, perhaps sensing the cameras were drifting to her older sister, made a case for the show’s biggest hot mess by very dramatically mulling whether to freeze her own eggs to have a baby.

“Mom” placed 11th on cable last week in 18-49s with a so-called “Check Up Special,” revisiting the teens who had given birth this season. Though some girls are doing well, others seem to be more concerned about being reality stars than parents.

The show averaged 1.76 million 18-49s.

“Boo” was TLC’s No. 1 show for the week, finishing 35th on cable with 1.44 million viewers in the demo.

The spinoff of “Toddlers and Tiaras” features the over-the-top antics of 6-year-old beauty pageant contestant Alana Thompson and her family, who take pride in being labeled white trash on various internet forums.

The Thompson family may just be the biggest trainwreck on television. So far this season Alana has attended the Redneck Games, watched a pig poop on her dining room table and been told by her mother that flatulence is an effective form of weight loss.

The joy in watching these people, as well as The Situation and Snooki on “Jersey Shore,” the quarreling lovers on VH1’s “Love and Hip Hop: Atlanta” and any real housewife on Bravo, is that they make us feel better about our own lives.

Sure, things may seem bad at the moment, but at least there’s not a pig pooping on our table.

***

In cable ratings for the week ended Sept. 16:

Top five networks in primetime (18-49s): ESPN, USA, TBS, FX, NFL Network.

Top five networks in primetime (total viewers): ESPN, USA, Fox News Channel, Disney Channel, TNT.

Top five cable news networks in primetime (25-54): Fox News Channel, MSNBC, CNN, HLN, CNBC.

Top five cable news programs (total viewers): 1 Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" (Wednesday, 8 p.m.); 2. Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" (Friday, 8 p.m.); 3. Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" (Thursday, 8 p.m.); 4. Fox News Channel's "Hannity" (Wednesday, 9 p.m.); 5. Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" (Tuesday, 8 p.m.)

Top movie (18-49s): No movie during the week made the top 50 among 18-49s.

Top sporting event (total viewers): ESPN's "NFL Football: Cincinnati/Baltimore" (Monday, 6:55 p.m.) 10.90 million.

Shows making the top 10 among 18-34s, 18-49s and 25-54s: ESPN's "NFL Football: Cincinnati/Baltimore" (Monday, 6:55 p.m.); ESPN's "NFL Football: San Diego/Oakland" (Monday, 10:20 p.m.); NFL Network's "NFL Football: Bears vs. Packers" (Thursday, 8:30 p.m.); FX's "Sons of Anarchy" (Tuesday, 10 p.m.); NFL Network's "NFL Pre-Kickoff" (Thursday, 8 p.m.); E!'s "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" (Sunday, 9 p.m.).

Show on the rise: E!'s "Keeping Up with the Kardashians," Sunday, 9 p.m. The reality program averaged 2.33 million viewers 18-49, up 14 percent from the previous week's 2.05 million.

Show on the decline: VH1's "T.I. and Tiny" Monday, 9 p.m. Up against football the reality show fell 51 percent week-to-week among 18-49s, from 2.83 million to 1.40 million.

TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS Ranked on Total Viewers Week Ending Sept. 16
Rank	Primetime		Total Day
Rank	Net	(000)	Net	(000)
1	ESPN	3179	NICK	1562
2	USA	2631	ESPN	1399
3	FOXN	2304	DSNY	1396
4	DSNY	2047	FOXN	1329
5	TNT	1818	ADSM*	1191
6	HIST	1811	USA	1113
7	TBSC	1612	TOON	1012
8	AEN	1437	TNT	992
9	ADSM	1342	NAN *	931
10	NFLN	1315	HIST	894
11	FX	1313	AEN	766
12	HGTV	1233	TBSC	679
13	FAM	1205	HGTV	655
14	TLC	1192	FX	603
15	SYFY	1121	MSNB	585
16	AMC	1111	FOOD	579
17	FOOD	1092	ID	562
18	TRU	1060	FAM	549
19	DISC	1031	TVLD	548
20	NAN	1020	AMC	534
21	MSNB	998	TLC	520
22	LIF	945	TRU	513
23	NKJR	805	DISC	488
24	TVLD	794	NKJR	484
25	BRAV	749	SYFY	478
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day. Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data

TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE PROGRAMS Ranked on Total Viewers Week Ending Sept. 16
Rank	Program	Net	(000)
1	Cincinnati/Baltimore	ESPN	10904
2	San Diego/Oakland	ESPN	10450
3	2012 – Bears vs. Packers	NFLN	8559
4	Sons of Anarchy	FX	5366
5	Florida/Tennessee	ESPN	5076
6	Major Crimes	TNT	4964
7	NFL Pre-Kickoff	NFLN	4824
8	WWE Entertainment	USA	4362
9	WWE Entertainment	USA	4270
10	The O'Reilly Factor	FOXN	4121
11	NASCAR Sprint Cup	ESPN	3949
12	Covert Affairs	USA	3941
13	White Collar	USA	3799
14	WWE Entertainment	USA	3777
15	Royal Pains	USA	3742
16	Good Luck Charlie	DSNY	3737
17	The O'Reilly Factor	FOXN	3629
18	Keeping Up With The Kardashians	EN	3567
19	Perception	TNT	3540
20	Sprint Cup Post Race	ESPN	3495
21	The O'Reilly Factor	FOXN	3401
22	Spongebob	NICK	3322
23	Hannity	FOXN	3321
24	The Big Bang Theory	TBSC	3284
25	NCIS	USA	3219
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data

TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS Adults 18-34 Week Ending Sept. 16
Rank	PRIME TIME		TOTAL DAY
Rank	Net	(000)	Net	(000)
1	ESPN	790	ADSM*	479
2	ADSM	449	ESPN	421
3	USA	438	NAN *	282
4	TBSC	433	NICK	274
5	FX	382	USA	207
6	MTV	356	MTV	205
7	NFLN	354	TOON	202
8	FAM	305	DSNY	201
9	AEN	287	FX	196
10	CMDY	267	TBSC	193
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day. Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data

TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS Adults 18-34 Week Ending Sept. 16
Rank	PROGRAM	NET	(000)
1	San Diego/Oakland	ESPN	3213
2	Cincinnati/Baltimore	ESPN	3087
3	2012 – Bears vs. Packers	NFLN	2449
4	Sons of Anarchy	FX	1862
5	Keeping Up With The Kardashians	EN	1544
6	Teen Mom Season 4 Check Up Special	MTV	1356
7	NFL Pre-Kickoff	NFLN	1267
8	Family Guy	ADSM	1248
9	Family Guy	ADSM	1231
10	Family Guy	ADSM	1221
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data

TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS Adults 18-49 Week Ending Sept. 16
Rank	PRIME TIME		TOTAL DAY
Rank	Net	(000)	Net	(000)
1	ESPN	1606	ESPN	782
2	USA	889	ADSM*	635
3	TBSC	863	NAN *	448
4	FX	738	NICK	425
5	NFLN	707	USA	411
6	AEN	665	TNT	397
7	HIST	648	AEN	372
8	ADSM	644	TBSC	360
9	TNT	597	HIST	352
10	FAM	560	FX	349
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day. Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data

TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS Adults 18-49 Week Ending Sept. 16
Rank	PROGRAM	NET	(000)
1	San Diego/Oakland	ESPN	6245
2	Cincinnati/Baltimore	ESPN	5958
3	2012 – Bears vs. Packers	NFLN	4753
4	Sons of Anarchy	FX	3505
5	NFL Pre-Kickoff	NFLN	2500
6	Keeping Up With The Kardashians	EN	2328
7	Florida/Tennessee	ESPN	2295
8	WWE Raw	USA	1984
9	WWE Raw	USA	1851
10	The Big Bang Theory	TBSC	1778
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data

TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS Adults 25-54 Week Ending Sept. 16
	PRIME TIME		TOTAL DAY
Rank	Net	(000)	Net	(000)
1	ESPN	1594	ESPN	734
2	USA	934	TNT	450
3	TBSC	892	USA	423
4	HIST	756	ADSM*	399
5	NFLN	747	AEN	391
6	FX	729	HIST	388
7	TNT	721	NAN *	372
8	AEN	718	TBSC	362
9	DISC	562	NICK	348
10	FOOD	562	FX	317
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day. Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data

TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS Adults 25-54 Week Ending Sept. 16
Rank	PROGRAM	NET	(000)
1	San Diego/Oakland	ESPN	5960
2	Cincinnati/Baltimore	ESPN	5670
3	2012 – Bears vs. Packers	NFLN	4861
4	Sons of Anarchy	FX	3446
5	NFL Pre-Kickoff	NFLN	2707
6	Florida/Tennessee	ESPN	2367
7	WWE Raw	USA	2011
8	WWE Raw	USA	1992
9	Keeping Up With The Kardashians	EN	1936
10	The Big Bang Theory	TBSC	1904
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data