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[07/02/03 - 12:00 AM]
Cable Originals Battling for the Spotlight
By Brian Ford Sullivan (TFC)

CHICAGO (thefutoncritic.com) -- With the June ratings period (May 26-June 29) officially a wrap, some basic cable networks are finding their original offerings are fighting an uphill battle to attract viewers.

Here's a breakdown of the latest rumblings:

-- FX is probably having the toughest time out of all of the basic cable networks. Its two latest originals: "Lucky" and "The Orlando Jones Show" have not been the ratings grabbers the network had hoped. Particularly disappointing has been "Lucky" which many expected to rebound this past month with the broadcast networks having wrapped their regular season. That hasn't been the case as the comedy saw its adults 18-49 average drop to a 0.55 rating during the period, lowering its season-to-date average to a 0.77 rating. The same bad news applies to "Jones," as the late-night talk show fell more than 60% from its opening week numbers by the end of June in the key demographic (0.24 vs. 0.60 rating). The series only saving grace has been its performance among African-American viewers where it scores a 0.66 rating among the 18-49 demographic.

-- USA on the other hand has had better, albeit mixed, results thanks to its original series "Monk." The second season bow of the drama was the most-watched episode of the series to date, securing a 4.1 household rating. Nevertheless, week two of its new season saw its viewership fall by 1.4 million total viewers (4.0 million vs. 5.4 million). Further complicating matters is the lack of another fresh installment of the series until July 11 due to the national holiday this Friday. Despite such dark clouds, "Monk" remains a key component to USA's original series strategy. A new drama, "Peacemakers," kicks off on July 30 and "The Dead Zone" returns for seven new episodes this Sunday.

-- MTV's June offerings also garnered a mixed bag of results. New Sunday series "Doggy Fizzle Televizzle" and "Who's Got Game" scored respectable numbers, topping the network's previous time slot average by 30%. Returning series "The Real World" and "The Osbournes" however weren't so lucky as both were off from year-to-year comparisions. Nevertheless, MTV's new late-night series "The New Tom Green Show" has been a surprise hit for the network, posting a strong 1.1 rating among MTV's target demographic of persons 12-34.

-- Game Show Network has seen its aggressive Sunday night lineup fail to meet expectations. After two weeks, neither "Chuck Woolery: Naturally Stoned" nor its lead-out, "Funny Money," topped the network's projected 0.8 household rating for the series.

-- TNT, which doesn't carry original series, has pulled lukewarm responses for its latest batch of original telefilms. This past weekend, the network's mini-series "Caesar" averaged 3.36 million total viewers, 1,553,000 of which were among the coveted adults 18-49 demographic. That's up 23% from TNT's primetime average as of late with Sunday's installment bringing in 3.6 million viewers (1.6 million in adults 18-49) and 3.1 million viewers (1.4 million in adults 18-49) for its conclusion on Monday.





  [july 2003]  
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· CAESAR (TNT)
· DEAD ZONE, THE (USA)
· DOGGY FIZZLE TELEVIZZLE (MTV)
· LUCKY (FX)
· MONK (USA)
· OSBOURNES, THE (MTV)
· PEACEMAKERS (USA)
· REAL WORLD, THE (MTV)
· WHO'S GOT GAME (MTV)





[06/17/13 - 05:35 PM]
NBC Entertainment Names Quinn Taylor Executive Vice President, Movies, Miniseries & International Co-Productions
Previously, Taylor was senior vice president, Movies, Miniseries and Acquisitions, ABC Entertainment Group.

[06/17/13 - 05:02 PM]
Friday's Cable Ratings: "WWE Smackdown," U.S. Open Top Charts
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[06/17/13 - 04:16 PM]
FX Casts Oscar(R)-Nominated Actor John Hurt in "The Strain"
Corey Stoll, Kevin Durand, Mia Maestro, Richard Sammel, Lauren Lee Smith, Jonathan Hyde and Miguel Gomez also star in the project, from Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan.

[06/17/13 - 03:19 PM]
ESPN's Scores Its Second-Highest Thursday U.S. Open Viewership Ever
ESPN spins the numbers for Thursday, June 13.

[06/17/13 - 02:34 PM]
Disney Junior's "Sofia the First" Soars to #2 Telecast Ever in Total Viewers and Series High in Boys 2-5
Disney Channel spins the numbers for Friday, June 14.

[06/17/13 - 01:15 PM]
Bruins-Blackhawks Game 2 Is Most-Watched NHL Game in NBC Sports Network History
NBC Sports Network spins the numbers for Saturday, June 15.

[06/17/13 - 12:06 PM]
Velocity Unveils Classic Motorcycle Americana on the Original Series "What's in the Barn?"
Dale Walksler hosts the series, which launches Tuesday, June 25 at 10:00/9:00c.

[06/17/13 - 12:01 PM]
Disney Channel Orders "Girl Meets World," a Comedy Series for Kids and Families From Michael Jacobs ("Boy Meets World")
Rowan Blanchard, Sabrina Carpenter, Danielle Fishel and Ben Savage star in the series, due in 2014.

[06/17/13 - 11:33 AM]
Brooke Burke-Charvet Opens Up About Her Cancer, Career, Marriages, Divorce and Home Schooling with Giuliana Rancic When the "E! Entertainment Special: Brooke Burke-Charvet" Premieres Thursday, June 20th at 10 PM ET/PT on E!
Brooke's husband, actor David Charvet joins Giuliana and his wife to share the romantic details of how they reconnected years after a love affair in Mexico.

[06/17/13 - 11:00 AM]
CBS Announces 2013-2014 Premiere Dates
The bulk of the Eye's new and returning series will roll out during the official premiere week, September 23-29.

[06/17/13 - 10:35 AM]
Original Episodes of "Betty White's Off Their Rockers" to Air June 25 & July 9; Ed Asner Guest Stars in Season Finale
Plus: the winners of the "Off Their Rockers Prankster's Challenge" - the funniest viewer-submitted pranks - will also be revealed in the July 9 episode.

[06/17/13 - 10:14 AM]
W. Kamau Bell Welcomes Tony(TM) Award Winner Billy Porter to "Totally Biased" June 20
Also appearing on the show will be comedian/rapper Zach "MC Mr. Napkins" Sherwin, who will be performing an original rap number.

[06/17/13 - 10:13 AM]
OWN Premieres Special Night of Programming Sunday, June 23 Featuring African-American Women in Hollywood on "Oprah's Next Chapter" and Television Premiere of Documentary "Dark Girls"
Alfre Woodard, Viola Davis, Phylicia Rashad and Gabrielle Union are among those featured in the former installment.

[06/17/13 - 10:10 AM]
ABC Family Presents a "Pirates of the Caribbean" Weekend Airing Saturday, July 6th & Sunday, July 7th
Highlights include the network television premiere of "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" on Sunday, July 7 at 8:00/7:00c.

[06/17/13 - 10:09 AM]
ABC Family Celebrates Independence Day with an Explosive Double Feature of "National Treasure" and "National Treasure: Book of Secrets"
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