Raising the Bar (TNT): Ratings Recap

TNT's 'Raising the Bar' premiered September 1, 2008 to a dominating 2.1 adults 18-49 rating (2.837 million in that demo) and 7.74 million viewers, breaking the record for the biggest series launch ever on ad-supported cable (USA's 'The 4400' had the previous record of 7.407 million in 2004). The ratings tumbled hard after that, down to just 0.62 in the demo and 2.46 million viewers by the fifth episode of the season. A second season aired in the summer of 2009 and performed slightly better, regularly averaging between 0.7 & 0.9 in the demo and over 3 million viewers. Despite this, the show was cancelled and the final three episodes were burned off on Christmas Eve 2009 where they found a very small audience of just over a million. Note: ratings for the final four episodes of the first season are unavailable, as is an official published source listing the season averages. Due to the large audience of the first three episodes, any estimation of the average using just the data available will be very inflated and therefore was excluded. 

Men of a Certain Age (TNT): Ratings Recap

TNT's 'Men of a Certain Age' premiered December 7, 2009 to a 1.6 adults 18-49 rating and 5.4 million viewers, actually gaining in the demo from its 'The Closer' lead-in (1.4 rating). It gained from 'Closer' again in its second week (to 1.3 from 1.2), but began to fall after 'Closer' concluded for the season on Dec. 21. Without a strong lead-in, the show dropped to the mid-2 millions and below a 1.0 demo rating for the remainder of its first season. A second season premiered in Dec. 2010 and was on par with those numbers (0.6 rating, 2.4 million) for the first few episodes, but ultimately tumbled to well below 2 million viewers and to low demo ratings (0.3-0.4). The second season averaged a 0.44 rating with 1.87 million viewers and the program was cancelled.

The Closer (TNT): Ratings Recap

TNT's 'The Closer' premiered June 13, 2005 to 7.03 million viewers and 2.57 million adults 18-49 (2.0 rating) which was, at the time, the highest numbers for a cable premiere ever. It held the record for over 10 years until the Aug. 2015 premiere of AMC's 'Fear the Walking Dead' (10.13 million). Throughout its run, 'Closer' was a cable ratings juggernaut, regularly ranking as the most-viewed weekly program. The show saw growth in its first couple years, hitting a peak in 2007 when its third season averaged 1.7 in the 18-49 demo and over 7.5 million viewers. Even as it steadily declined the rest of its run, it maintained an average of over 1.0 in the demo and more than 6 million viewers. It finally concluded August 13, 2012 to a 1.6 rating with 9.08 million viewers - a series-high in viewership. Over the course of its seven seasons, 'Closer' aired a total of 109 episodes.

Saving Grace (TNT): Ratings Recap

TNT's 'Saving Grace' premiered July 23, 2007 to a 1.5/4 adults 18-49 rating/share and 6.42 million viewers, holding the full demo from its 'The Closer' lead-in. Those would end up being its best ratings as it wasn't able to keep up with the juggernaut cable ratings 'Closer' was bringing in. Despite hovering in the 4-5 million viewer range throughout the summer, the final four episodes of the first season aired in December to low audiences. The Dec. 3rd episode, for instance, had a 'Closer' lead-in (1.3 rating, 6.05 million), yet tumbled by 50% to 0.7 with 3.04 million viewers. Things started to look better at the start of the second season in 2008 with the premiere delivering 1.2 in the demo with 5.16 million viewers. The summer '08 portion the season was pretty promising as well, mostly staying in the 4-5 million range, but the second portion of the season which aired in the spring of 2009 fell hard to the low 2-millions and wasn't able to recover. A third and final season aired in the summer of '09 & spring of 2010 averaging just 0.6 in the demo with 2.57 million viewers. The show was cancelled after three seasons. Note: we do not have 18-49 data for every episode, but it was available for the majority of them. 

Dark Blue (TNT): Ratings Recap

TNT's 'Dark Blue' premiered July 15, 2009 to a 0.9/3 adults 18-49 rating/share and 3.54 million viewers - retaining most of its lead-in - the second season premiere of 'Leverage' (1.0/3, 3.89M). The first season finale aired without a 'Leverage' lead-in, and tumbled hard to 1.61 million viewers, though with a first season average of 0.7 in the demo and nearly 2.6 million viewers, it was apparently enough to warrant a second season. The second season premiered in 2010 with a double episode which was on par with its first season average, but by the end of the season, the show began to regularly dip below 2 million viewers and finished its run with 1.82 million. It was not renewed for a third season, and a total of 20 episodes aired over the course of its 2 seasons.

Thursday January 10, 2019 Nielsen Finals

TLC's 'Dr. Pimple Popper' easily topped the Thursday cable ratings with a 0.71 A18-49 rating and 2.79 million viewers, including the day's best ratings among women 18-49 (0.9) and females 12-34 (0.53). Coverage of 'NBA Basketball' between the Thunder and Spurs, on TNT, scored the day's best numbers in M18-49 (0.83) and M12-34 (0.61) with 1.45 million viewers, while the lead-in game, Celtics/Heat, was at 0.64/0.48 in those demos with 1.17 million viewers. On MTV, 'Floribama Shore' notched a 0.40 F12-34 rating with 719,000 viewers, while lead-in 'Ex on the Beach' was slightly higher at 0.45 in that demo with 683,000 viewers. Over at Bravo, 'Top Chef' averaged a 0.41 W18-49 rating with 977,000 viewers, while at Lifetime, two episodes of 'Rap Game' were at 0.28/0.25 in that demo with 512,000/434,000 total viewers. Other programs of note include: two episodes of WEtv's 'Growing Up Hip Hop' (623,000 & 555,000), TruTV's 'The Carbonaro Effect' (328,000), UP's 'Bringing Up Bates' (293,000), and two episodes of CMT's 'Music City' (107,000 & 65,000). 

Thursday January 3, 2019 Nielsen Finals

'NBA Basketball' between the Rockets and Warriors, on TNT, topped the Thursday cable ratings with a 0.92 A18-49 rating and 2.39 million viewers, leading also men 18-49 (1.29 rating), and males 12-34 (0.93). The lead-in Raptors/Spurs game scored a 1.0 M18-49 rating, a 0.84 M12-34 rating, and 1.81 million viewers. Over on Lifetime, two episodes of 'Surviving R. Kelly' notched the day's best ratings in women 18-49 (1.11/1.26) and females 12-34 (0.63/0.70), as well as 1.8 million/1.97 million among total viewers. MTV's 'Ex on the Beach,' managed a 0.50 F12-34 rating with 751,000 viewers, and 'Floribama Shore' was at 0.49 in that demo with 787,000 viewers. Other programs of note include UP's 'Bringing Up Bates' (305,000), GSN's 'America Says' (416,000), and CMT's 'Music City' (139,000). 

Thursday December 27, 2018 Nielsen Finals

Below are the daily Nielsen ratings for Thursday December 27, 2018. In lieu of the daily text, an additional cable subdemos chart has been added below the normal cable ratings chart and includes information that would've otherwise been included in the text

Thursday December 20, 2018 Nielsen Finals

Below are the daily Nielsen ratings for Thursday December 20, 2018. In lieu of the daily text, an additional cable subdemos chart has been added below the normal cable ratings chart and includes information that would've otherwise been included in the text

Thursday December 13, 2018 Nielsen Finals

Below are the daily Nielsen ratings for Thursday December 13, 2018. In lieu of the daily text, an additional cable subdemos chart has been added below the normal cable ratings chart and includes information that would've otherwise been included in the text

Thursday December 6, 2018 Nielsen Finals

Below are the daily Nielsen ratings for Thursday December 6, 2018. In lieu of the daily text, an additional cable subdemos chart has been added below the normal cable ratings chart and includes information that would've otherwise been included in the text.

Thursday November 29, 2018 Nielsen Finals

NFL Network's 'Thursday Night Football' topped the Thursday cable ratings with a 1.1 A18-49 rating and 3.2 million viewers, leading also in men 18-49 (1.59 rating), males 12-34 (1.05), people 18-34 (0.86), and people 25-54 (1.28). On MTV, 'Jersey Shore: Family Vacation' pulled a 0.81 W18-49 rating, a 0.77 F12-34 rating, and averaged 1.13 million viewers. Two lead-out episodes of 'Floribama Shore' were at 0.49/0.35 in F12-34 and 727,000/569,000 in total viewers. Over at Bravo, 'Shahs of Sunset' notched a 0.43 W18-49 rating with 876,000 viewers, and at TruTV, 'Impractical Jokers' was at 0.28 in M18-49 with 495,000 viewers. Coverage of 'NBA Basketball' between the Warriors and Raptors, on TNT, managed a 0.63 M18-49 rating, a 0.45 M12-34 rating, and 1.14 million viewers. Finally, among lower-rated cables, two episodes of IFC's 'Baronness Von Sketch Show' were at 79,000 & 69,000.

Thursday November 15, 2018 Nielsen Finals

NFL Network's coverage of 'Thursday Night Football' led among all Thursday cable programs, averaging a 0.97 A18-49 rating with 2.84 million viewers. The game also walked to easy victories among men 18-49 (1.37 rating), males 12-34 (0.79), and people 25-54 (1.15). On MTV, 'Jersey Shore: Family Vacation' topped the day in women 18-49 (0.85), females 12-34 (0.79), and people 18-34 (0.79), averaging a robust 1.21 million viewers. A 'Jersey Shore: Friendsgiving' special was ay 0.45 in the demo, 0.54 in W18-49, 0.52 in W18-49 & F12-34, and had 786,000 viewers. Over at Bravo, 'Shah's of Sunset' notched a 0.42 W18-49 rating with 842,000 viewers, while on TruTV, 'Impractical Jokers' managed 0.28 in that demo with 564,000 viewers. Finally, two episodes of Sundance's 'Deutschland 86' airing early Friday morning at 12am and 1am, were at 0.02/0.01 in the demo and 100,000/45,000 in viewership. 

Sunday November 11, 2018 Nielsen Finals

AMC's 'The Walking Dead' topped the Sunday cable ratings with a 2.02 A18-49 rating with 5.4 million viewers, leading in men & women 18-49 (2.01/2.02 ratings), males & females 12-34 (0.93/1.15), and adults 18-34 (1.08) & 25-54 (2.56). In female-skewing programming, Bravo's 'Real Housewives of Atlanta' ranked just behind 'Dead' in W18-49 (1.13) & F12-34 (0.72), TLC's '90 Day Fiancė' was in third in W18-49 (0.81), and Hallmark's movie 'Christmas in Love' was in fourth (0.77, 2.31 rating in P50+); in total viewers the three programs were at: 1.84 million, 1.68 million, and 3.66 million viewers. Elsewhere in basic cable was BBC America's 'Doctor Who' (710,000/0.37 in P50+), Lifetime's 'You' (526,000/0.28 in W18-49), and the series-finale of TNT's 'The Last Ship' (1.15 million/0.78 rating in P50+).  'The 2018 People's Choice Awards' averaged a combined 1.68 million viewers and a 0.59 A18-49 rating across the five networks it aired on. On premium cable, HBO aired new episodes of 'Last Week Tonight' (782,000), 'Camping' (246,000) & the premiere of 'Sally4Ever' (165,000); Showtime had 'Ray Donovan' (868,000), 'The Circus' (238,000), & the season finale of 'Kidding' (224,000); and Starz had 'Outlander' (870,000). 

Thursday November 8, 2018 Nielsen Finals

The 'Thursday Night Football' simulcast, on NFL Network, led Thursday cable in the adults 18-49 demo (1.04 rating), as well as in men 18-49 (1.46), people 25-54 (1.29), and men 12-34 (0.82). The game also averaged 2.83 million viewers (in addition to 14.75 million on FOX). MTV's 'Jersey Shore: Family Vacation' took easy victories in both women 18-49 (0.96) & females 12-34 (0.81), and averaged 1.28 million viewers. Two lead-out episodes of 'How Far is Tattoo Far' were at 0.45/0.43 in W18-49, 0.39/0.40 in F12-34, and 617,000/564,000 in total viewers. TNT aired two 'NBA Basketball' games, Bucks/Warriors & Rockets/Thunder, which were at 0.86/0.49 in M18-49, 0.65/0.39 in F12-34, and 1.57 million/1.12 million viewers. Elsewhere, Bravo's 'Shah's of Sunset' had a 0.45 W18-49 rating with 1.01 million viewers, and on TruTV, 'Impractical Jokers' was at 0.29/0.26 in M/W18-49 with 535,000 viewers. Finally, Sundance's 'Deutschland 86' had 0.02/92,000, and two season premiere episodes of IFC's 'Baroness Von Sketch Show' were at 0.04/0.03 in the demo and at 93,000/66,000 in total viewers. 

Sunday November 4, 2018 Nielsen Finals

AMC's much-hyped episode of 'The Walking Dead' took an easy victory on Sunday cable, notching a 2.07 A18-49 rating with 5.41 million total viewers. The show was remarkable even between men & women 18-49 (2.06/2.08 ratings) and 12-34 (1.07/1.08), but found its best numbers in adults 25-54 (2.58 rating). 'Talking Dead' had an even 1.0 in the key demo with 2.7 million viewers. On Bravo, 'Real Housewives of Atlanta' scored the day's second-best W18-49 rating (1.08) and had 1.93 million viewers; lead-out 'Married to Medicine' averaged a 0.70 in that demo with 1.38 million viewers. Other programs robust in female viewership include E!'s 'Keeping Up with Kardashians' (0.82 in W18-49, 0.72 in F12-34) and TLC's '90 Day Fiancė' (0.79/0.55); those two shows were at 1.13 million & 1.76 million viewers respectively. Other notable basic cable offerings include: BBC America's 'Doctor Who' (685,000/0.20), TNT's 'The Last Ship' (1.13 milion/0.20), and Lifetime's 'You' (470,000/0.14). On premium cable, Starz saw the fourth-season premiere of 'Outlander' whose 1.08 million viewers were on par with its 2016 second-season numbers, but lower than any episode last year. Elsewhere, HBO aired 'Last Week Tonight' (648,000), 'The Deuce' (387,000), & 'Camping' (265,000), and Showtime had 'Ray Donovan' (732,000), 'Kidding' (152,000), 'The Circus' (227,000), and the return of 'Our Cartoon President' (108,000). 

Thursday November 1, 2018 Nielsen Finals

MTV's 'Jersey Shore: Family Vacation' overtook NFL Network's simulcast of 'Thursday Night Football' to win Thursday cable. The reality show averaged a 0.76 A18-49 rating with 1.26 million viewers, including dominant performances in women 18-49 (0.92 rating), females 12-34 (0.84), and people 18-34 (0.82). Behind 'Shore' was two episodes of 'How Far is Tattoo Far' which both averaged 0.40 in F12-34 and 0.42 in W18-49 and were at 583,000/562,000 in total viewers. 'Thursday Night Football' averaged just a 0.75 rating with 2.15 million viewers, but led cable in men 18-49 (1.04), and people 25-54 (0.93). TNT coverage of 'NBA Basketball' between the Bucks and Celtics led all of cable in the males 12-34 demo (0.59), notched a solid 0.74 in M18-49, and averaged 1.28 million viewers. The Pelicans/Blazers game was at 0.53/0.69 in those demos respectively with 1.08 million viewers. A&E's 'Live PD' had a 0.41 in W18-49 with 1.2 million viewers, while Bravo's 'Shahs of Sunset' pulled a 0.39 in that demo with 894,000 viewers. Elsewhere, 'Impractical Jokers,' on TruTV, had 502,000 viewers and 'Deutschland 86,' on SundanceTV, had 149,000. 

Sunday October 28, 2018 Nielsen Finals

AMC's 'The Walking Dead' topped the Sunday cable ratings averaging a 1.95 A18-49 rating with 5.1 million total viewers. The game led the cable in men & women 18-49 (1.97, 1.93 ratings), females 12-34 (1.08), and both people 18-34 and 25-54 (1.18/2.41). NFL Network's morning coverage of Philadelphia vs. Jacksonville in London led in males 12-34 (1.14) and averaged 3.59 million viewers. In female-skewing programming, TLC's '90 Day Fiancė' notched a 0.93 W18-49 rating with 1.85 million viewers, 'Unexpected' had a 0.49 in that demo with 1.03 million viewers, E!'s 'Keeping Up with the Kardashians' had a 0.68 with 878,000 viewers, and Bravo's 'Married to Medicine' was at 0.58 with 1.07 million viewers. Also airing on ad-supported scripted cable was TNT's 'The Last Ship' (1.12 million/0.23), BBC America's 'Doctor Who' (900,000/0.32), Lifetime's 'You' (488,000/0.14), and Syfy's 'Channel Zero' (273,000/0.10), the latter of which saw nice recovery from the previous day's low. Premium cable saw Showtime's 'Kidding' (179,000), 'The Circus' (238,000), and the season premiere of Showtime's 'Ray Donovan' (805,000) which returned to its lowest viewership ever. HBO aired 'Last Week Tonight' (918,000), 'The Deuce' (480,000), and 'Camping' (384,000).

Thursday October 25, 2018 Nielsen Finals

TNT's coverage of 'NBA Basketball' between the Nuggets and Lakers topped the Thursday cable ratings with a 0.89 A18-49 rating with 1.95 million viewers. The game led in men 18-49 (1.31 rating), males 12-34 (1.02), adults 18-34 (0.89), and adults 25-54 (0.87). Lead-in game, Celtics/Thunder had a 0.85 M18-49 rating, a 0.68 M12-34 rating, and 1.48 million viewers. NFL Network's simulcast of 'Thursday Night Football' took the second spot on the day with a 0.79 A18-49 rating (1.13 M18-49 rating) and 2.25 million viewers. Over at MTV, 'Jersey Shore: Family Vacation' scored cable's best numbers in both the W18-49 demo (0.91) and F12-34 demo (0.78), averaging 1.25 million total viewers. Two episodes of 'How Far is Tattoo Far,' also on MTV, were at 0.53/0.44 in W18-49, 0.45/0.37 in F12-34, and at 606,000/557,000 in viewers. On TruTV, 'Impractical Jokers' was mediocre at 0.24/448,000, and on Bravo, 'Shahs of Sunset' performed well in W18-49 (0.34) and ok in viewers (792,000). Finally, the long-awaited premiere of Sundance's 'Deutschland 86,' the follow-up from 2015's 'Deutschland 83' found a 0.03 A18-49 rating and 98,000 viewers at midnight. 

Thursday October 18, 2018 Nielsen Finals

Coverage of the 'MLB ALCS,' on TBS, between the Red Sox and Astros topped the Thursday cable ratings, averaging a 1.59 A18-49 rating with 6.53 million viewers. The game also led the women 18-49 demo (1.09 rating) and adults 25-54 demo (2.03), but ranked second in men 18-49 (2.1), males 12-34 (1.22), and adults 18-34 (1.09). 'NBA Basketball' between the Lakers and Blazers, on TNT, ranked second in the key demo (1.57 rating), but led cable in M18-49 (2.29), M12-34 (1.87), and adults 18-34 (1.55), averaging 3.31 million viewers. On MTV, 'Jersey Shore Family Vacation' took victory in the F12-34 demo (0.7), third in the W18-49 demo (0.8), and had 1.11 million total viewers. Two episodes of 'How Far is Tattoo Far' were both at 0.41 in the F12-34 demo (0.43/0.41 in W18-49) and at 485,000/462,000 in total viewers. Over at TruTV, 'Impractical Jokers' was solid, averaging a 0.33 M18-49 rating with 484,000 viewers, and at Bravo's 'Shah's of Sunset' had a 0.33 W18-49 rating with 851,000 viewers. Finally, on Reelz, 'Irreconcilable Differences' had 111,000 viewers.