ESPN Blitzes October With Strong MNF Ratings

Buttressed by strong Monday Night Football deliveries, ESPN is on track to win its second straight monthly ratings race. Through Oct. 25, the sports network averaged 3.73 million total viewers in prime time, a 28 percent improvement over its year-ago delivery (2.92 million).Per Nielsen ratings data, ESPN swept the three core TV demos, drawing 1.9 million adults 25-54 (an increase of 31 percent versus October 2008), while serving up 1.88 million viewers 18-49, up 28 percent from 1.47 million. The net also drew 855,000 viewers 18-34, a 21 percent lift from 703,000.ESPN started the month on a tear, as the Oct. 5 installment of MNF set the record as the most-watched telecast in cable TV history, drawing 21.9 million total viewers. Wranglershill/Vikings QB Brett Favre led the Minnesota Vikings to a 30-23 victory over the Green Bay Packers, establishing bragging rights over the NFC North and knocking off the previous record of 18.6 million viewers, set by ESPN on Sept. 15, 2008 (Eagles-Cowboys).Through the first six weeks of the 2009-10 NFL season, ESPN’s MNF coverage is averaging 15 million total viewers.ESPN also drew big numbers with the Sept. 28 MNF telecast, a Cowboys-Panthers tilt that delivered 15.7 million viewers. On Oct. 19, the Chargers and Broncos AFC West grudge match drew 13.5 million viewers, while Jets-Dolphins delivered 13.1 million viewers on the night of the 12th.Bristol held off a charge by TBS, which hosted its third season of postseason baseball. The Turner net’s slate of 18 MLB playoff games averaged 5.15 million viewers, down 4 percent from the 5.38 million viewers it drew a year ago, when it carried 22 postseason games.All told, TBS averaged 3.24 million viewers in prime, a drop of 11 percent from the 3.64 million it drew in October 2008. TBS took second among the three demos, averaging 1.58 million viewers 18-49 (down 10 percent), 1.52 million adults 25-54 (down 13 percent) and 787,000 viewers 18-34 (off 5 percent).On the month, TBS accounted for six of the top 10 most-watched programs on ad-supported cable, setting its high-water mark with Game 5 of the National League Championship Series. On Oct. 21, the Phillies advanced to the World Series with a 10-4 win over the Dodgers, in a Wednesday night clincher that was seen by a TBS audience of 8 million viewers.USA Network took third place, averaging 2.93 million total viewers, a 3 percent uptick from last October’s 2.83 million. Although the network saw declines in the demos, USA took third across the board, drawing 1.29 million adults 25-54 (down 4 percent), 1.19 million viewers 18-49 (down 13 percent from its year-ago 1.38 million) and 541,000 18-34s, a drop of 15 percent.USA got the biggest lift of the month on Friday, Oct. 23, as a new episode of Monk drew 5.42 million viewers before leading into the series premiere of White Collar (5.4 million). In a remarkable show of retention, White Collar held onto 99.6 percent of its 9 p.m. lead-in.Fox News Channel grabbed fourth place, drawing a nightly crowd of 2.16 million viewers, of which 563,000 were members of the 25-54 demo. While FNC dropped 36 percent in both areas, its 2008 numbers were inflated by the race for the White House.In a head-to-head comparison with the most recent non-election year, FNC actually grew 55 percent versus October 2007, when it averaged 1.4 million total viewers. In the core news demo, Fox News grew 66 percent versus the same period two years ago, when it averaged 340,000 adults 25-54.Taking fifth in October prime was Nick at Nite, with 1.71 million viewers, down 3 percent from 1.75 million.Rounding out the top 10 were: TNT, which fell 11 percent in prime with an average draw of 1.48 million viewers; A&E, up 10 percent with 1.5 million viewers; Syfy, up 1 percent (1.45 million); Cartoon Network, which fell 19 percent (1.36 million) and FX, up 11 percent with 1.3 million total viewers.Per Nielsen, 11 of ad-supported cable’s top 40 networks notched double-digit ratings gains in the quarter, while a dozen nets suffered declines of 10 percent or more. All told, the top 40 nets accounted for an aggregate 3.4 percent decline in nightly deliveries.While the top 10 was relatively stable, with only ESPN, A&E and FX growing by 10 percent or more, it was a mixed bag for cable nets that ranked between No. 11 and No. 40 in prime. The biggest gainer of the month was Food Network, which was up 32 percent in total viewers, averaging 1.13 million viewers.Also making great strides in October was Food sibling HGTV, which improved 17 percent to 1.16 million viewers.On a percentile basis, other gainers were: ESPN2 (up 29 percent to 780,000); CMT (up 27 percent to 436,000); BET (up 18 percent to 751,000); truTV (up 15 percent to 1.06 million) and Travel Channel, which saw its nightly deliveries increase 11 percent to 477,000. E! and TLC also saw substantial gains, as each grew 9 percent.Not surprisingly, the nets that lost the most ground in the quarter were news outlets. CNN fell 69 percent with 665,000 viewers, while MSNBC dropped 56 percent to 702,000 viewers. When compared to October 2007 deliveries, CNN was down 6 percent from 711,000 viewers, while MSNBC grew 44 percent from 489,000. Much the same holds true for the demo, as MSNBC served up 235,000 adults 25-54 (up 18 percent from 199,000 in October ‘07), besting CNN’s 187,000 (down 24 percent from 246,000 two years ago).A handful of basic entertainment nets also took a hit. Hallmark Channel continued to struggle, dropping 38 percent to 782,000 viewers, while Lifetime fell 25 percent to 1.05 million viewers. Viacom nets MTV and Comedy Central suffered setbacks, as the flagship net fell 16 percent in October (689,000) while its sibling dropped 14 percent to 992,000. Tops among the core TV demo were: ESPN, which drew 1.88 million viewers 18-49, up 28 percent; TBS, with 1.58 million (down 10 percent); USA (1.19 million, down 13 percent); FX (770,000, up 10 percent); Syfy (733,000, up 4 percent); A&E (651,000, off 1 percent); TNT (629,000, down 19 percent); Comedy Central (617,000, down 11 percent); Spike TV (615,000, flat versus a year ago) and Discovery Channel (592,000, down 5 percent). Non-ad-supported Disney Channel took fourth among all basic cable nets, averaging 2.84 million viewers in prime, up 8 percent versus the prior-year period, when it drew 2.63 million viewers. The Mouse maintained its hold on the core kiddie demos, averaging 1.17 million viewers 6-11 (up 6 percent) and 949,000 ‘tweens 9-14 (down 2 percent).Disney’s most significant programming highlight of the quarter occurred on Oct. 2, as a one-hour Suite Life on Deck drew 7.62 million viewers.

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ESPN Blitzes October With Strong MNF Ratings

Anthony Crupi

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Anthony Crupi