Ratings Clack – Soccer is going to be huge!

by Brett Love

With a by-the-numbers week on the broadcast networks, the big stories were on cable, where the Women's World Cup did very well and the premiere of 'Breaking Bad' brought very good numbers for AMC.

CABLE - Of course, I kid. Soccer isn’t ever going to be huge in the U.S., because it’s not football. But that doesn’t mean it can’t bring an impressive number every once in a while when the big events roll around. The final for the women’s World Cup (13.46m/4.7) did just that, managing to top everything on broadcast and cable last week. Not nearly as impressive, but also worth noting, was the return of Breaking Bad (2.58m/1.1). While that number is left wanting when compared to some of the cable competition, it does mark a big improvement over the premiere of the previous season. It’s also the second highest demo AMC has seen for a season premiere, after Walking Dead.

Basic
Falling Skies (4.27m/1.4) In Plain Sight (3.71m/1) The Glades (2.57m/.7) Rizzoli & Isles (6.39m/1.2) Eureka (2.16m/.8) Warehouse 13 (2.46m/.9) Alphas (2.23m/.8) White Collar (4.18m/1.2) Covert Affairs (4.55m/1.2) Pretty Little Liars (2.53m/.9) Franklin & Bash (2.34m/.8) Burn Notice (5.39m/1.5) Suits (4.38m/1.5) Wilfred (1.44m/.7) Louie (.87m/.4)	Leverage (4.06m/1.1) Drop Dead Diva (2.27m/.8) The Closer (6.47m/1.1) Secret Life of the American Teen (2.58m/1.1) Switched At Birth (2.69m/1) Teen Wolf (1.76m/.7) Nine Lives of Chloe King (1.26m/.4) Hawthorne (2.25m/.7) Memphis Beat (2.87m/.6) Royal Pains (5.03m/1.4) Necessary Roughness (4.2m/1.2) Hot In Cleveland (2.44m/.6) Futurama (1.41m/.7) Next Food Network Star (3.12m/1.1) Pawn Stars (6.67m/2.5 – 6.39m/2.3)
Premium
True Blood (5.1m/2.7) Curb Your Enthusiasm (1.91m/.8) Weeds (.67m/.3) The Big C (.62m/.2)

NBC - It was a very dull week on the broadcast networks, with America’s Got Talent (12.07m/3.6 – 10.32m/2.7) again taking the top spot. Elsewhere, NBC had Marriage Ref (3.18m/1), It’s Worth What (6.71m/1.9), Love In The Wild (4.54m/1.5), and Love Bites (1.8m/.7).

ABC - The Bachelorette (8m/2.3) led off the week, follwed by Extreme Makeover Weight Loss (5.83m/2). The usual suspects followed – 101 Ways To Leave A Game Show (4.76m/1.5), Combat Hospital (3.78m/.8), Wipeout (6.54m/1.9), Expedition Impossible (4.68m/1.3), Rookie Blue (5.39m/1.3) – with the usual results.

FOX - If there was a surprise for the week, it might have been the soft numbers for the premiere of the latest edition of Hell’s Kitchen (5.84m/2.5 – 5.77m/2.5). That is lower than expected, but matches well with what MasterChef (5.62m/2.4 – 5.35m/2.2) has been turning in. And that leaves So You Think You Can Dance (5.58m/2 – 5.25m/1.6) in third place where FOX’s summer reality schedule is concerned.

CBS - It was another week with three Big Brother episodes (6.89m/2.4 – 7.16m/2.6 – 6.9m/2.6), and a Flashpoint (6.18m/1.1).

Photo Credit: ussoccer.com