The days of Network television dominance ended over a decade ago. Nowadays, cable networks are just as competitive as the networks, and at times even have higher watched programs. In this post, I am going to take a look at a couple programs in cable television and their ratings.
The biggest show on cable in the past couple years has been Jersey Shore, and while it's ratings have been dropping over it's past couple cycles, it is still a powerhouse. The latest (and final) season premiered to a 2.5 ratings point, which is better than the average premier week ratings for both ABC and CBS. However, it was only watched by 4.7 million viewers, making it one of youngest skewing shows on MTV. This number is down from the last season premier of 7.6 million viewers, and the one before that had 8.8 million viewers. Jersey Shore is quickly shedding viewers but remains a show that is competitive with the broadcast networks.
Tosh.0 has been on Comedy Central for the past 4 years and has grown into one of the network's top preforming programs. This past week's episode earned a 1.4 ratings point, making it the third watched cable program of the night. While this number doesn't compete well with most TV dramas, it is about what NBC receives for it's comedies. It's the same exact rating as NBC's "30 Rock" and "Up All Night" from last week. Not only is Tosh.0 at a natural disadvantage being on cable, but it is also a much cheaper program to produce. One episode of Tosh.0 costs about $400,000, while network sitcoms can cost around 2 million dollars. Comedy Central is competing with the networks by cutting costs and skewing as young as possible, and it's working.
Jersey Shore Ratings:
http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/08/05/thursday-cable-ratings-jersey-shore-dominates-burn-notice-suits-project-runway-wilfred-futurama-louie-more/99741/
http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/01/06/thursday-cable-ratings-jersey-shore-premieres-down-slightly-still-broadcast-project-runway-the-first-48-beyond-scared-straight-more/115571/
Tosh.0 cost: http://socialtimes.com/daniel-tosh-online-video_b41265
Tosh.0 Ratings: http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/10/03/tuesday-cable-ratingssons-of-anarchy-wins-night-tosh-0-brickleberry-face-off-shipping-wars-teen-mom-farewell-more/151331/
NBC Sitcom Ratings: http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/10/05/thursday-final-ratingsthe-x-factor-last-resort-30-rock-greys-anatomy-the-office-adjusted-up-two-and-a-half-men-person-of-interest-scandal-elementary/151704/
pretty interesting breakdown of the financials behind these shows. i wonder if you expect more cable stations to take this method and make it mainstream or if they will keep the flagship shows going. what would be even more interesting to see is their formula on how ratings equates to sponsorship dollars.
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