rating change

Lost in all the news of the major networks' summer decline and the struggles of the pay channels and the ongoing soap operas of the endless reality shows is the news that Burn Notice is very quietly becoming a major ratings player on cable.

What originally looked like a silly, self-referential genre show tucked in after wrestling on the USA Network, Burn Notice is one of the biggest hits on cable. It doesn't get the critical love of Mad Men, but it has a lot of fans.

According to a USA press release, the show's August airings are burning down nine million viewers at a pop -- making it the period's most watch scripted episodic on cable.

It's now USA's most-watched original series ever with 9.1 million viewers during August episodes -- the first time a USA original series has broken the nine million viewers benchmark.