'Red Widow' Gets The Axe
'Grey's' Isn't Going Anywhere
Summer's Cable Winners ('Rizzoli & Isles') and Losers (Kathy Griffin)
by Chris Jordan, posted Aug 27th 2010 3:00PM
It seemed everyone was talking about 'Jersey Shore,' 'True Blood' and 'Mad Men' this summer. Well,guess what? Everyone was watching those cable shows, too.The audience for MTV's 'Jersey Shore' jumped to 5.3 million average viewers, an increase of 194 percent from its previous season, HBO's 'True Blood' saw an 20 percent increase to 4.8 million viewers and AMC's 'Mad Men' jumped 26 percent to 2.4 million viewers, according the Nielsen cable summer TV ratings data as released by the Hollywood Reporter.
But not everyone scored so well. We've reviewed the data and broken down the numbers. See which shows were summer's winners and losers ...
Winner: TNT -- The channel's Monday night lineup soared. TNT paired 'The Closer' at 9PM with new procedural 'Rizzoli & Isles,' starring Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander, at 10PM. The result was 'The Closer' topping the cable list with 7.1 million viewers, an 8 percent increase, and 'Rizzoli & Isles' posting an average viewership of seven million, good for second place.
Loser: USA -- USA was was not the place this summer for procedurals and comedy-dramas. Four of its shows lost at least 10 percent in viewership: "Burn Notice' was down 10 percent (now 5.4 million), 'Royal Pains' also lost 10 percent (5.4 million), 'White Collar' decreased 11 percent (4.1 million) and 'Psych' was minus 10 percent (3.6 million).
Winner: 'Jersey Shore' -- Sophomore slump? Fuggedaboutit! The cast members of the MTV "reality show" show are everywhere these days, from Jay Leno to the New York Stock Exchange, and fans are can't get enough, as evidenced by the huge numbers for season 2.
Loser: 'Top Chef: D.C.' -- 'Maybe it's the age of the series (this is its seventh season), maybe it's all the spin-offs and or a show can only be hot for so long. Bravo's 'Top Chef D.C.' lost 21 percent of its viewers from last season, down to 2.3 million. Washington, D.C. may be our country's capital, but it hasn't proven to be a culinary slam-dunk.
Winner: Action Reality -- Viewers want watch hearty guys at work on the open seas. The audience for the Discovery Channel's 'Deadliest Catch' rose 29 percent to 4.5 million viewers and Animal Planet's 'Whale Wars' caught an 18 percent boost for a 1.3 million audience. 'Catch's' numbers were boosted by the drama of the death of cast member Capt. Phill Harris.
Loser: Kathy Griffin's Reality -- Here's another Bravo bleeder. 'Kathy Griffin: Life on the D-List' is down to 720,000 viewers, according to the report. It's a shame, especially since the show featured one of the best Liza Minnelli segments we've ever seen. Yes, folks, you can apparently cold-call Liza Minnelli.
Winner: Spies -- USA's 'Covert Affairs,' starring Piper Perabo as a Russian-speaking spy, and AMC's 'Rubicon,' about a huge government conspiracy, played to brisk numbers. 'Affairs' drew a 5.1 million average and 'Rubicon's' 1.5 million showed the public has an eye for spies.
Loser: Pregnant Teens -- Teen mom Amy Juergens is certainly not a spy, but the program suggests she's living a secret life, if you will. The high school pregnancy drama grew even more secretive this summer as it lost 12 percent of its audience on ABC Family. Not even the guest appearance by Bristol Palin generated sustained interest.
Winner: Betty White -- There's no stopping White. The TV Land sitcom 'Hot in Cleveland,' on which she co-stars, drew an average of 3.1 million viewers.
Loser: Louis CK -- This guy's not so lucky. His comedy 'Louie' garnered paltry 746,000 viewers on FX.
Hot in Cleveland (TV Land) 3.1 million, n/a; Hawthorne (TNT) 3 million, -12%; Secret Life of the American Teenager (ABC Family) 2.8 million, -12%; Warehouse 13 (Syfy) 2.6 million, -21%; Pretty Little Liars (ABC Family) 2.6 million, n/a; Are We There Yet? (TBS) 2.6 million, n/a; Drop Dead Diva (Lifetime) 2.4 million, -11%; Mad Men (AMC) 2.4 million, +26%; Eureka (Syfy) 2.4 million, 0%; Top Chef (Bravo), 2.3 million, -21%; Futurama (Comedy Central) 2.2 million, n/a; Haven (Syfy) 2 million, n/a;
Rubicon (AMC) 1.5 million, n/a; Weeds (Showtime) 1.3 million, +8%; Rescue Me (FX) 1.3 million, -19%; Whale Wars (Animal Planet) 1.3 million, +18%; The Big C (Showtime) 1.2 million, n/a; Hard Times of RJ Berger (MTV) 1.1 million, n/a; Work of Art (Bravo) 1.1 million, n/a; Louie (FX) 746,000, n/a; Kathy Griffin: Life on the D-List (Bravo) 720,000, -3%; Hung (HBO) 185,000, -14%; Entourage (HBO) 185,000, 0%.
Loser: 'Top Chef: D.C.' -- 'Maybe it's the age of the series (this is its seventh season), maybe it's all the spin-offs and or a show can only be hot for so long. Bravo's 'Top Chef D.C.' lost 21 percent of its viewers from last season, down to 2.3 million. Washington, D.C. may be our country's capital, but it hasn't proven to be a culinary slam-dunk.
Winner: Action Reality -- Viewers want watch hearty guys at work on the open seas. The audience for the Discovery Channel's 'Deadliest Catch' rose 29 percent to 4.5 million viewers and Animal Planet's 'Whale Wars' caught an 18 percent boost for a 1.3 million audience. 'Catch's' numbers were boosted by the drama of the death of cast member Capt. Phill Harris.
Loser: Kathy Griffin's Reality -- Here's another Bravo bleeder. 'Kathy Griffin: Life on the D-List' is down to 720,000 viewers, according to the report. It's a shame, especially since the show featured one of the best Liza Minnelli segments we've ever seen. Yes, folks, you can apparently cold-call Liza Minnelli.
Winner: Spies -- USA's 'Covert Affairs,' starring Piper Perabo as a Russian-speaking spy, and AMC's 'Rubicon,' about a huge government conspiracy, played to brisk numbers. 'Affairs' drew a 5.1 million average and 'Rubicon's' 1.5 million showed the public has an eye for spies.
Loser: Pregnant Teens -- Teen mom Amy Juergens is certainly not a spy, but the program suggests she's living a secret life, if you will. The high school pregnancy drama grew even more secretive this summer as it lost 12 percent of its audience on ABC Family. Not even the guest appearance by Bristol Palin generated sustained interest.
Winner: Betty White -- There's no stopping White. The TV Land sitcom 'Hot in Cleveland,' on which she co-stars, drew an average of 3.1 million viewers.
Loser: Louis CK -- This guy's not so lucky. His comedy 'Louie' garnered paltry 746,000 viewers on FX.
Nielsen Summer Cable Ratings
(Show, channel, average audience, percentage increase/decrease)
The Closer (TNT) 7.1 million, +8%; Rizzoli & Isles (TNT) 7 million, n/a; Burn Notice (USA) 5.6 million, -10%; Royal Pains (USA) 5.4 million, -10%; Jersey Shore (MTV) 5.3 million, +194%; Covert Affairs (USA) 5.1 million, n/a; True Blood (HBO) 4.8 million, +20%; Deadliest Catch (Discovery) 4.5 million, +29%; White Collar (USA) 4.1 million, -11%; Memphis Beat (TNT) 3.6 million, n/a; Psych (USA) 3.6 million, -10%; Leverage (TNT) 3.4 million, -3%; The Glades (A&E) 3.2 million, n/a;(Show, channel, average audience, percentage increase/decrease)
Hot in Cleveland (TV Land) 3.1 million, n/a; Hawthorne (TNT) 3 million, -12%; Secret Life of the American Teenager (ABC Family) 2.8 million, -12%; Warehouse 13 (Syfy) 2.6 million, -21%; Pretty Little Liars (ABC Family) 2.6 million, n/a; Are We There Yet? (TBS) 2.6 million, n/a; Drop Dead Diva (Lifetime) 2.4 million, -11%; Mad Men (AMC) 2.4 million, +26%; Eureka (Syfy) 2.4 million, 0%; Top Chef (Bravo), 2.3 million, -21%; Futurama (Comedy Central) 2.2 million, n/a; Haven (Syfy) 2 million, n/a;
Rubicon (AMC) 1.5 million, n/a; Weeds (Showtime) 1.3 million, +8%; Rescue Me (FX) 1.3 million, -19%; Whale Wars (Animal Planet) 1.3 million, +18%; The Big C (Showtime) 1.2 million, n/a; Hard Times of RJ Berger (MTV) 1.1 million, n/a; Work of Art (Bravo) 1.1 million, n/a; Louie (FX) 746,000, n/a; Kathy Griffin: Life on the D-List (Bravo) 720,000, -3%; Hung (HBO) 185,000, -14%; Entourage (HBO) 185,000, 0%.
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