Newsletter Subscription
Get our free newsletters that cover the intersection of media, marketing and technology.
Subscribe NowESPN last week powered its way to another prime-time cable ratings win, averaging a brawny 4.73 million total viewers while nailing down the three major TV demos.
Per Nielsen live-plus-same-day data for the week ended Dec. 6, Bristol ran the table among the demos, drawing 2.32 million adults 25-54, 2.32 million viewers 18-49 and 1.15 million viewers 18-34.
A stellar Monday Night Football match-up between the Saints and Patriots did much of the heavy lifting for ESPN, as the Nov. 30 contest served up 21.4 million viewers, making it the second most-watched basic-cable telecast of all time. New Orleans’ 38-17 romp now trails only the Oct. 5 edition of MNF, a Vikings-Packers shootout that drew a record-toppling 21.8 million total viewers.
As one might expect, MNF also put up huge demo numbers, delivering 11.2 million adults 25-54 and viewers 18-49, and 5.39 million viewers 18-34.
Leading out of the Saints-Pats telecast, ESPN’s 93-minute SportsCenter drew 5.67 million viewers, of which 3.37 million were members of the 18-49 demo. The sports net also drew a crowd with its presentation of the Dec. 3 Civil War battle between Oregon and Oregon State, which averaged 5.73 million viewers Thursday night.
USA Network took second place in prime, averaging 3.34 million total viewers, 1.4 million adults 25-54, 1.37 million viewers 18-49 and 623,000 viewers 18-34. The network broke the record for the most-watched episode of an original cable series as the Dec. 4 finale of Monk scared up 9.45 million viewers in its Friday 9 p.m. time slot.
Episode No. 125, “Mr. Monk and the End (Pt. 2),” drew 3.74 million adults 25-54 and 3.2 million viewers 18-49, easily topping everything else on television on the night.
Monk lead-out White Collar drew 5.55 million viewers. The series, which has averaged 4.73 million viewers over the course of seven episodes, goes on hiatus until Jan. 19, 2010, when it returns in its new time slot (Tuesdays at 10 p.m.)
ABC Family surged into third place, averaging 2.28 million total viewers. The network last week kicked off its annual 25 Days of Christmas stunt, drawing 1.08 million viewers 18-49, 974,000 adults 25-54 and 542,000 18-34s, all of which were good for a fourth-place finish.
Fox News Channel moved down a spot to fourth place, serving up 2.27 million total viewers, while tying Food Network for 13th among adults 25-54 with an average nightly draw of 575,000.
