Winners and Losers From The Last 7 Days


WINNERS


TRUE BLOOD: I still think True Blood is all over the place creatively this season (see my Bloody Mess posting for more) but the ratings sure can’t be argued with. Sunday’s penultimate episode pulled in a record 5.44 million viewers and a terrific 3.2 18-49 share – the best demo rating of the week for all cable shows. And that was up against the Emmys – unusually sturdy competition for a summer Sunday night.

Plus since the show ended with the best cliffhanger of the season so far (Eric and Russell potentially facing the true death!) I wouldn’t be surprised to see the show beat its own records with the 12th September finale episode (below)… there’s still plenty of bite left in this franchise…

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PILLARS OF THE EARTH: It’s been up and down and all over the place this summer, but last Friday Pillars of the Earth came to a close with a 2-part finale and pulled in a ratings high of 607,000 viewers (though still with a tiny 0.2 18-49 share).

Will Starz be happy with those figures? Probably, given that they’re not footing the full bill for the show due to crafty co-production deals. So will the Pillars sequel, World Without End, actually happen? At this stage, I’d say the odds are looking good…

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SPLIT DECISION


AMERICA’S GOT TALENT: It’s the number one show of the summer – again – in total viewers, and has just been renewed for a 6th season by NBC. Plus I’d argue the Talent is better than ever this year… so why the ‘Split Decision’.

The reason – though Talent does great in total viewers – its demo ratings aren’t so hot. Wednesday’s results episode pulled in 10.3 million viewers but could only managed a 2.5 18-49 share, lower than True Blood (see above) and Big Brother on the same night (which pulled in a 2.8 share – but with far less viewers 7.70). It’s glass half full time. Being able to claim the number one show of the summer is great for the network, but those demo numbers mean AGT can’t charge the ad rates those numbers deserve… Maybe younger judges might help? I hear Kara Dioguardi might be available soon…

THE EMMY AWARDS: I thought Sunday’s Emmy Awards were a mixed bag (see my Emmys round up for more) and it seems so did viewers. Yes, audiences were up slightly year to year – 13.5 million compared to 13.47 in 2009. But the demo numbers slipped a point and the overall trend for the awards show is downwards… just 5 years ago the show scored 18.6 million viewers on CBS… If the rumors are true, will the show eventually move to cable? I hope not, the Emmys are just too important a part of the TV calendar to move to a non-network home at this stage…

LOSERS

KATE PLUS EIGHT: Yes, after years of stellar ratings it does look like the reign of Kate Gosselin is coming to a close. On Monday, Kate Plus Eight pulled in 1.61 million viewers and a 0.5 share. Not bad, but considering Kate started off the summer with ratings in the 3 million range that’s a pretty hefty drop. Plus other TLC shows such as Say Yes To The Dress: Atlanta (1.36 million), LA Ink (1.46 million) and 19 Kids And Counting (1.59 million) are nipping at Kate’s designer heels… and I can promise you they’re not paying their stars $250,000 an episode!

Normally shows gain momentum as they head towards their series finales (just look at Jersey Shore for example)… and don’t forget Kate made a memorable cameo at the Emmy’s the night before – so why no ratings spike? What will happen when Twist of Kate launches later in the year – and how many more of her 15 minutes does Kate have left?

DANCE YOUR ASS OFF: Wow, what happened to Oxygen’s weight loss show this season? Once a flagship series for the network, Dance this week scored just 0.60 million viewers for its second season finale and a 0.2 in the 18-49 demo. Not horrible – but surprisingly low when compared to the likes of The Bad Girls Club (1.96 million / 0.9 18-49) and Hair Battle Spectacular (1.10 million / 0.5 18-49) the same week

For me the problem with Dance is that the weight loss isn’t that extreme (compared to the likes of The Biggest Loser) and the dancing is pretty terrible (compared to virtually any other dance show on TV). Plus I’m not sure that the addition of Mel B as host really added much to the mix – at least previous host Marissa Jaret Winokur could identify with the contestants’ weight loss struggles.

After a sliding Dance Your Ass Off, Losing It With Jillian struggling earlier in the summer and Money Hungry dying a death on Vh1, has the era of weight loss shows come to an end? We’ll find out when Thintervention hits screens on Bravo next week?

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PERSONS UNKNOWN: And finally… goodbye Persons Unknown, NBC’s summer scripted series that seemed doomed from the get go. After being exiled to Saturdays, and even losing an episode, Persons limped to a close on Saturday night with 2.9 million viewers and a 0.8 share. To be fair that was actually up on previous weeks but even so don’t go expecting a second season…

By the way – if you’re a fan of our Ratings Roundups – they’ll be moving to SATURDAYS from next week onwards…!