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Cable recap

Sandy gives Weather Channel a huge lift

Network draws best numbers of 2012 as people look for updates

By Toni Fitzgerald

October 31, 2012

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The unprecedented threat to the Eastern seaboard from Hurricane Sandy resulted in unprecedented numbers for The Weather Channel.

The network was the No. 1 non-kids network in total-day viewing Sunday, and its web site had the biggest day in its history as people searched for updates on the pending storm.

TWC averaged 1.4 million total viewers on Sunday, according to Nielsen, including 590,000 adults 25-54, its best viewership all year in the demo.

It was higher than TWC’s numbers for two other recent hurricanes, Isaac’s first day of landfall, which averaged 464,000, and the day before landfall for Irene, which averaged 572,000.

But it was online where TWC really saw its numbers soar. Across all its digital platforms, including Weather.com, mobile and tablet apps, TWC served up 450 million page views on Monday, nearly double its previous record of 249 million.

Weather.com had almost 300 million page views, almost triple the number delivered for Irene in August of last year. Monday also saw 110 million mobile app views, a record.

The huge numbers reflect several things, most notably the wide berth for Sandy, which impacted a huge area geographically and population wise.

The storm path hit every state north of North Carolina on the Eastern seaboard, which meant more than 50 million were in its direct path and thus scrambling for the latest updates on where it would hit.

The numbers also reflect the increasing use of the web, most notably mobile and tablet devices, to follow the news. Last year when Irene hit there were many fewer smartphone and tablet owners.

But now roughly half of all cell phones in the U.S. are smartphones, and more than a quarter of adults have tablets.

***

In cable ratings for the week ended Oct. 28:

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

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

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 "Presidential Debate" (Monday, 9 p.m.); 2. Fox News Channel's "On the Record with Greta Van Susteren" (Monday, 10:34 p.m.); 3. CNN's "3rd Presidential Debate 2012 (Monday, 9:02 p.m.); 4. Fox News Channel's "Hannity" (Monday, 11:05 p.m.); 5. CNN's "Debate Night in America" (Monday, 10:34 p.m.)

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

Top sporting event (total viewers): ESPN's "NFL Football: Detroit/Chicago" (Monday, 8:30 p.m.) 10.66million.

Shows making the top 10 among 18-34s, 18-49s and 25-54s: ESPN's "NFL Football: Detroit/Chicago" (Monday, 8:30 p.m.); AMC's "The Walking Dead" (Sunday, 9 p.m.); NFL Network's "NFL Football: Buccaneers vs. Broncos" (Thursday, 8:30 p.m.); FX's "Sons of Anarchy" (Tuesday, 10 p.m.); CNN's "3rd Presidential Debate 2012" (Monday, 9:02 p.m.).

Show on the rise: Comedy Central's "Tosh.0," Tuesday, 10 p.m. A week after airing against a presidential debate the comedy series bounced back, rising 35 percent week-to-week among 18-34s from 923,000 to 1.25 million.

Show on the decline: FX's "American Horror Story" Wednesday, 10 p.m. The drama was No. 9 for the week with 2.19 million 18-49s tuning in, but that was down 21 percent from 2.78 million the previous week.

TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS Ranked on Total Viewers Week Ending Oct. 28
Rank	Primetime		Total Day
Rank	Net	(000)	Net	(000)
1	FOXN	3604	NICK	1764
2	ESPN	2583	FOXN	1748
3	USA	2411	DSNY	1492
4	DSNY	1999	USA	1246
5	AMC	1660	ADSM*	1222
6	TBSC	1574	ESPN	1189
7	HIST	1537	NAN *	1043
8	AEN	1518	TOON	958
9	ADSM	1461	AEN	824
10	MSNB	1452	TNT	795
11	FAM	1441	HIST	781
12	FX	1419	AMC	735
13	TNT	1301	MSNB	718
14	DISC	1291	TBSC	700
15	NAN	1261	FAM	685
16	TLC	1177	FX	665
17	HGTV	1133	HGTV	639
18	CNN	1126	FOOD	590
19	SYFY	1086	DISC	587
20	FOOD	1075	TVLD	567
21	LIF	936	ID	544
22	TRU	889	TLC	540
23	NFLN	783	CNN	537
24	TVLD	761	TWC	537
25	SPK	740	LIF	493
* 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 Oct. 28
Rank	Program	Net	(000)
1	Presidential Debate	FOXN	11472
2	Detroit/Chicago	ESPN	10664
3	Walking Dead	AMC	10509
4	On The Record With Greta Van Susteren	FOXN	9595
5	3rd Presidential Debate 2012	CNN	5856
6	Hannity	FOXN	5684
7	Debate Night In America	CNN	5663
8	2012 – Buccaneers vs. Vikings	NFLN	5165
9	The O'Reilly Factor	FOXN	4647
10	Gold Rush	DISC	4447
11	Sons of Anarchy	FX	4300
12	The O'Reilly Factor	FOXN	4147
13	The O'Reilly Factor	FOXN	4104
13	Spongebob	NICK	4104
15	Debate	MSNB	4084
16	The O'Reilly Factor	FOXN	4067
17	The O'Reilly Factor	FOXN	3935
18	Ohio State/Penn State	ESPN	3928
19	Spongebob	NICK	3927
20	Tennessee/South Carolina	ESPN	3892
21	Breaking Amish	TLC	3878
22	Spongebob	NICK	3847
23	Spongebob	NICK	3778
24	Hannity	FOXN	3716
25	Mississippi State/Alabama	ESPN	3661
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data

TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS Adults 18-34 Week Ending Oct. 28
Rank	PRIME TIME		TOTAL DAY
Rank	Net	(000)	Net	(000)
1	ESPN	669	ADSM*	490
2	ADSM	517	ESPN	345
3	AMC	514	NAN *	326
4	FX	514	NICK	313
5	TBSC	489	DSNY	242
6	FAM	423	FX	228
7	USA	413	TBSC	219
8	CMDY	322	FAM	212
9	MTV	317	USA	209
10	AEN	311	AMC	208
* 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 Oct. 28
Rank	PROGRAM	NET	(000)
1	Walking Dead	AMC	3957
2	Detroit/Chicago	ESPN	3033
3	Sons of Anarchy	FX	1472
4	American Horror Story	FX	1470
5	Jersey Shore Season 6	MTV	1425
6	2012 – Buccaneers vs. Vikings	NFLN	1343
7	Tosh.O	CMDY	1249
8	Walking Dead	AMC	1222
9	3rd Presidential Debate 2012	CNN	1216
10	Pretty Little Liars	FAM	1165
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data

TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS Adults 18-49 Week Ending Oct. 28
Rank	PRIME TIME		TOTAL DAY
Rank	Net	(000)	Net	(000)
1	ESPN	1323	ADSM*	682
2	AMC	949	ESPN	640
3	TBSC	898	NAN *	488
4	FX	885	NICK	485
5	USA	861	USA	434
6	AEN	718	TBSC	400
7	ADSM	712	FX	399
8	FAM	670	AMC	397
9	DISC	638	AEN	393
10	FOXN	610	DSNY	378
* 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 Oct. 28
Rank	PROGRAM	NET	(000)
1	Walking Dead	AMC	6870
2	Detroit/Chicago	ESPN	5723
3	Presidential Debate	FOXN	2851
4	Sons of Anarchy	FX	2812
5	2012 – Buccaneers vs. Vikings	NFLN	2725
6	3rd Presidential Debate 2012	CNN	2404
7	Debate Night In America	CNN	2350
8	On The Record With Greta Van Susteren	FOXN	2223
9	American Horror Story	FX	2187
10	Gold Rush	DISC	2157
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data

TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS Adults 25-54 Week Ending Oct. 28
	PRIME TIME		TOTAL DAY
Rank	Net	(000)	Net	(000)
1	ESPN	1326	ESPN	612
2	USA	941	USA	479
3	AMC	863	ADSM*	453
4	FOXN	833	AEN	422
5	TBSC	833	FOXN	408
6	FX	797	NICK	388
7	AEN	776	NAN *	380
8	DISC	706	TBSC	379
9	HIST	634	AMC	376
10	TLC	580	TNT	366
* 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 Oct. 28
Rank	PROGRAM	NET	(000)
1	Walking Dead	AMC	5954
2	Detroit/Chicago	ESPN	5772
3	Presidential Debate	FOXN	3432
4	2012 – Buccaneers vs. Vikings	NFLN	2990
5	Sons of Anarchy	FX	2837
6	On The Record With Greta Van Susteren	FOXN	2779
7	3rd Presidential Debate 2012	CNN	2510
8	Gold Rush	DISC	2493
9	Debate Night In America	CNN	2479
10	Breaking Amish	TLC	2234
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data