USA Reigns Supreme in Second Quarter Cable Ratings
By Anne Becker -- Broadcasting & Cable, 7/3/2007 1:59:00 PM
USA edged out TNT for cable-ratings victories in both total viewers and adults 18-49 during second quarter (April 2-July 1). With the continued strength of WWE wrestling programming and help from its limited series The Starter Wife, USA averaged 2.57 million total viewers in prime, 1.19 million of them adults 18-49, according to Nielsen Media Research. TNT averaged 2.40 million total viewers and 1.15 million adults 18-49.
WWE Raw programming on USA took 12 of the month's top 30 most-viewed shows, with the most-viewed installment drawing 6.44 million viewers on June 11. TNT claimed the most-viewed individual program for the month with its third-season premiere of The Closer on June 18. With 8.81 million viewers, the 9 p.m. episode set a record for the most viewed original cable telecast ever.
A June 24 episode of Hannah Montana on non-ad-supported Disney Channel ranked as the quarter's second most-viewed program with an average 7.38 million total viewers at 8:30 p.m. Following that was the TNT's Pistons/Cavaliers game on June 2 (6.93 million viewers); the BET Awards on June 26 (6.39 million); and TNT's Nextel racing on June 24 (6.52 million).
After USA and TNT, Disney ranked as the quarter's third most-viewed network, with an average 2.36 million viewers in prime, followed by TBS with 1.57 million, Fox News with 1.48 million and Lifetime with 1.44 million. Following USA and TNT in the adults 18-49 demo were TBS with 852,000 viewers, Discovery with 730,000 and FX with 695,000.
