Ratings Clack – Jersey Shore returns, bigger than everything

by Brett Love

Last week we were again reminded that a whole lot of people really like 'Jersey Shore'. The show was easily the big winner for the week. On the broadcast networks, 'The Bachelorette' finale was good news for ABC.

CABLE - Occasionally there are successes in television that just boggle me. A show will appear, and I’ll be completely flummoxed as to why anyone would actually watch it, as it turns in great numbers week after week. Of course, the opposite is also true. On occasion there are shows that are so good that I can’t figure out why people don’t watch them.

Jersey Shore (8.79m/4.3) is one of the former. I wasn’t interested in the premise, and grew less so the more I heard about the show as it took off. While I missed the boat, there are certainly plenty of people that are happy to tune in. Not only does that 4.3 beat everything on cable and broadcast for the week, the 1.8 for the repeat at 11pm beat most of it as well. It’s safe to say that Snookie isn’t going away any time soon.

Basic
Falling Skies (4.31m/1.5) In Plain Sight (3.94m/1) Leverage (3.38m/1) Teen Wolf (1.49m/.5) The Closer (6.55m/1.3) Rizzoli & Isles (6.45m/1.4) Secret Life of the American Teen (2.35m/1.1) Switched At Birth (2.79m/1.2) Pretty Little Liars (2.41m/.8) Memphis Beat (3.22m/.7) Hawthorne (2.46m/.6) Burn Notice (5.21m/1.4) Suits (4.03m/1.3) Futurama (1.46m/.8) Wilfred (1.4m/.6) Louie (.93m/.4)	The Glades (2.59m/.7) Breaking Bad (1.71m/.7) Drop Dead Diva (2.09m/.7) Eureka (2.13m/.7) Warehouse 13 (2.25m/.8) Alphas (2.03m/.7) Nine Lives Of Chloe King (.96m/.3) Covert Affairs (4.61m/1.3) White Collar (3.71m/1.3) Royal Pains (5.46m/1.7) Necessary Roughness (4.45m/1.3) Franklin & Bash (2.54m/.8) Rescue Me (1.24m/.6) Pawn Stars (5.65m/2 – 5.6m/2) Project Runway (2.79m/1.1) Storage Wars (5.18m/2.1)
Premium
True Blood (5.19m/2.8) Entourage (2.14m/1.2) Curb Your Enthusiasm (2.1m/1) Weeds (.71m/.3) The Big C (.57m/.2)

CBS - It was a good week for the network. At least, as good a week as CBS can have with their limited summer schedule. That good news comes in the form of gains for Big Brother (8.06m/2.8 – 6.9m/2.5 – 7.43m/2.8). Those gains didn’t translate to anything for round two of Same Name (4.41m/1.4). And the week finished with another Flashpoint (6.2m/1.1).

NBC - America’s Got Talent (11.92m/3.1 – 9.96m/2.5) was the highlight of the week, but the more interesting bit came from the premiere of Friends With Benefits (2.37m/.7 – 1.99m/.6). Not that those numbers are a surprise for a comedy getting a Friday night burn-off in the summer. But I do remain curious about why they chose to run it on Friday. It’s not like anyone is actually watching the Community (1.95m/.6) and Parks & Rec (1.86m/.7) repeats on Thursday, and surely Friends With Benefits would have done even better a day earlier. The rest of the week brought the usual numbers from Marriage Ref (2.89m/.9), It’s Worth What (4.87m/1.2), Love In The Wild (4.69m/1.4), and Love Bites (1.8m/.7).

ABC - The finale for The Bachelorette (9.75m/2.8), and the After The Rose special (9.31m/2.8) were the big winners for the week. Unfortunately, that audience wasn’t willing to tune in a day earlier for the Men Tell All special (5.43m/1.6). The (not-exactly)big news for the rest of the week was the premiere of Take The Money And Run (5.28m/1.9), which seems to be picking up where 100 Ways left off. The other new programming came from Wipeout (6.6m/2 – 6.64m/2), Combat Hospital (3.72m/1), Expedition Impossible (4.82m/1.4), and Rookie Blue (5.2m/1.3).

FOX - It would seem that So You Think You Can Dance (5.53m/1.8 – 5.39m/1.7) is limping to the finish line. Even the reveal of the final four was no help. Double-shots of Hell’s Kitchen (5.6m/2.5 – 6.32m/2.7) and MasterChef (5.5m/2.3 – 5.87m/2.5) made up the rest of the week.

Photo Credit: MTV