or


[04/07/11 - 11:04 AM]
Q1 2011 Cable Ratings Recap: "The Game," "Tosh.0" & "Spartacus" See Largest Growth Among Scripted Series
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC)

Please note: As a courtesy, please do not reproduce these comments to newsgroups, forums or other online places. Links only please.

LOS ANGELES (thefutoncritic.com) -- The first quarter of 2011 wrapped with mixed results for cable's scripted offerings.

While shows like BET's "The Game" and Comedy Central's "Tosh.0" more than doubled their previous season's audience, four others - USA's "Royal Pains," HBO's "Big Love," TV Land's "Hot in Cleveland" and Showtime's "Californication" - saw significant declines in both total viewers and adults 18-49.

Here's a breakdown of how the 16 returning series fared this past quarter*:

CHANGE IN TOTAL VIEWERS

+167.08% - The Game
(4.527 million; BET, 1/11/11-3/29/11 vs. The CW, 10/3/08-1/23/09)

+115.18% - Tosh.0
(3.204 million; Comedy, 1/11/11-3/15/11 vs. 1/13/10-3/10/10)

+58.18% - Spartacus
(1.286 million; Starz, 1/21/11-2/25/11 vs. 1/22/10-2/26/10)

+29.17% - Army Wives
(3.914 million; Lifetime, 3/6/11-4/3/11 vs. 4/11/10-5/9/10)

+20.87% - Pretty Little Liars
(3.116 million; ABC Family, 1/3/11-3/21/11 vs. 6/8/10-8/10/10)

+16.12% - Merlin
(1.462 million; Syfy, 1/7/11-4/1/11 vs. 4/2/10-6/25/10)

+14.62% - Archer
(1.113 million; FX, 1/27/11-3/31/11 vs. 1/14/10-3/18/10)

+3.69% - Greek
(0.956 million; ABC Family, 1/3/11-3/7/11 vs. 1/25/10-3/29/10)

-1.02% - Justified
(2.632 million; FX, 2/9/11-3/30/11 vs. 3/16/10-5/4/10)

-6.88% - Southland
(1.991 million; TNT, 1/4/11-3/8/11 vs. 3/2/10-4/6/10)

-6.88% - White Collar
(3.572 million; USA, 1/18/11-3/8/11 vs. 1/19/10-3/9/10)

-25.38% - Royal Pains
(4.075 million; USA, 1/20/11-2/24/11 vs. 6/3/10-7/15/10)

-29.02% - Big Love
(1.152 million; HBO, 1/16/11-3/20/11 vs. 1/10/10-3/7/10)

-34.03% - Hot in Cleveland
(2.059 million; TV Land, 1/19/11-3/23/11 vs. 6/16/10-8/18/10)

-34.46% - Californication
(0.542 million; Showtime, 1/9/11-3/27/11 vs. 9/27/09-12/13/09)

-37.25% - Stargate Universe
(0.913 million; Syfy, 3/7/11-3/28/11 vs. 4/2/10-4/23/10)

CHANGE IN ADULTS 18-49

+214.29% - The Game
(2.2 rating; BET, 1/11/11-3/29/11 vs. The CW, 10/3/08-1/23/09)

+137.50% - Tosh.0
(1.9 rating; Comedy, 1/11/11-3/15/11 vs. 1/13/10-3/10/10)

+50.00% - Spartacus
(0.6 rating; Starz, 1/21/11-2/25/11 vs. 1/22/10-2/26/10)

+30.00% - Army Wives
(1.3 rating; Lifetime, 3/6/11-4/3/11 vs. 4/11/10-5/9/10)

+22.22% - Pretty Little Liars
(1.1 rating; ABC Family, 1/3/11-3/21/11 vs. 6/8/10-8/10/10)

+20.00% - Archer
(0.6 rating; FX, 1/27/11-3/31/11 vs. 1/14/10-3/18/10)

no change - Merlin
(0.4 rating; Syfy, 1/7/11-4/1/11 vs. 4/2/10-6/25/10)

no change - Greek
(0.4 rating; ABC Family, 1/3/11-3/7/11 vs. 1/25/10-3/29/10)

no change - Stargate Universe
(0.5 rating; Syfy, 3/7/11-3/28/11 vs. 4/2/10-4/23/10)

-7.69% - White Collar
(1.2 rating; USA, 1/18/11-3/8/11 vs. 1/19/10-3/9/10)

-10.00% - Justified
(0.9 rating; FX, 2/9/11-3/30/11 vs. 3/16/10-5/4/10)

-12.50% - Southland
(0.7 rating; TNT, 1/4/11-3/8/11 vs. 3/2/10-4/6/10)

-35.29% - Royal Pains
(1.1 rating; USA, 1/20/11-2/24/11 vs. 6/3/10-7/15/10)

-37.50% - Big Love
(0.5 rating; HBO, 1/16/11-3/20/11 vs. 1/10/10-3/7/10)

-37.50% - Hot in Cleveland
(0.5 rating; TV Land, 1/19/11-3/23/11 vs. 6/16/10-8/18/10)

-50.00% - Californication
(0.2 rating; Showtime, 1/9/11-3/27/11 vs. 9/27/09-12/13/09)

Please note: As a courtesy, please do not reproduce these comments to newsgroups, forums or other online places. Links only please.

Meanwhile, on the newcomer front USA's "Fairly Legal" led the scripted pack in total viewers while BET's "Let's Stay Together" was the top demo draw*:

TOTAL VIEWERS

3.554 million - Fairly Legal
(USA, 1/20/11-3/24/11)

2.526 million - Let's Stay Together
(BET, 1/18/11-3/29/11)

2.241 million - Breakout Kings
(A&E, 3/6/11-4/3/11)

1.477 million - Being Human
(Syfy, 1/17/11-3/28/11)

1.395 million - Skins
(MTV, 1/17/11-3/21/11)

1.360 million - Retired at 35
(TV Land, 1/19/11-3/23/11)

1.240 million - Onion SportsDome
(Comedy, 1/11/11-2/15/11)

1.029 million - Shameless
(Showtime, 1/9/11-3/27/11)

0.828 million - Lights Out
(FX, 1/11/11-3/29/11)

0.508 million - Episodes
(Showtime, 1/9/11-2/20/11)

ADULTS 18-49

1.2 rating - Let's Stay Together
(BET, 1/18/11-3/29/11)

0.9 rating - Fairly Legal
(USA, 1/20/11-3/24/11)

0.9 rating - Breakout Kings
(A&E, 3/6/11-4/3/11)

0.7 rating - Onion SportsDome
(Comedy, 1/11/11-2/15/11)

0.6 rating - Being Human
(Syfy, 1/17/11-3/28/11)

0.6 rating - Skins
(MTV, 1/17/11-3/21/11)

0.5 rating - Shameless
(Showtime, 1/9/11-3/27/11)

0.4 rating - Lights Out
(FX, 1/11/11-3/29/11)

0.3 rating - Retired at 35
(TV Land, 1/19/11-3/23/11)

0.2 rating - Episodes
(Showtime, 1/9/11-2/20/11)

* Source: Nielsen Media Research, 1/2/11-4/3/11; excludes Cartoon Network, Disney Channel, E! & Nickelodeon as their complete data was not available. Comparisons, if possible, made with the same number of episodes aired from previous season or year-to-year period.





  [april 2011]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
     


· ARCHER (FXX)
· ARMY WIVES (LIFETIME)
· BEING HUMAN (SYFY)
· BIG LOVE (HBO)
· BREAKOUT KINGS (A AND E)
· CALIFORNICATION (SHOWTIME)
· EPISODES (SHOWTIME)
· FAIRLY LEGAL (USA)
· FUTON'S RATINGS SURVIVAL GUIDES (TFC)
· GAME, THE (BET)
· GREEK (ABC FAMILY)
· HOT IN CLEVELAND (TV LAND)
· JUSTIFIED (FX)
· LET'S STAY TOGETHER (BET)
· LIGHTS OUT (FX)
· MERLIN (SYFY)
· ONION SPORTSDOME (COMEDY CENTRAL)
· PRETTY LITTLE LIARS (FREEFORM)
· RETIRED AT 35 (TV LAND)
· ROYAL PAINS (USA)
· SHAMELESS (SHOWTIME)
· SKINS (MTV)
· SOUTHLAND (TNT)
· SPARTACUS (STARZ)
· STARGATE UNIVERSE (SYFY)
· TOSH.0 (COMEDY CENTRAL)
· WHITE COLLAR (USA)




most recent ratings | view all posts
[11/03/25 - 11:00 AM]
CBS Premiere Week Leads Live+7 Multiplatform Viewership with Television's #1 Show "Tracker" and Four of the Top Five Series
The network claimed 10 of the top 20 series, twice as many top 20 shows as the competition.
[11/03/25 - 05:11 AM]
25,984,000 Viewers Tuned in for the Dodgers Back-to-Back, Dramatic Clinch of the Fall Classic Across FOX, FOX Deportes and FOX Sports Streaming Services - The Most Since 2017
On FOX, World Series Game 7 peaked with 31,543,000 viewers from 11:30-11:45 PM ET.
[10/31/25 - 02:22 PM]
FOX Sports Hits 14.6 Million Viewers for Game 5 of the World Series
The telecast reached a peak viewership of 16,034,000 viewers on FOX between 10:00-10:15 PM ET.
[10/31/25 - 10:42 AM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Scares Up More Wins - Rising for Historic Sixth Week in a Row
"Dancing with the Stars" is the only fall show to increase its overall audience for six consecutive weeks following its season premiere.
[10/31/25 - 06:31 AM]
ESPN Networks Deliver Record College Football Viewership at the Midway Point of the Season, "College GameDay" Continues on Historic Run
Through nine weeks, ESPN networks are averaging 2.3 million viewers per game, their largest audience since 2009 and an increase of 20 percent year-over-year.
[10/30/25 - 03:05 PM]
14.8 Million Viewers Tuned in for World Series Game 4 Across FOX, FOX Deportes & FOX Sports Streaming Services
Viewership peaked at 16,695,000 viewers on FOX between 10:00-10:15 PM ET.
[10/30/25 - 03:01 PM]
Debut of NBC Sports' "Coast 2 Coast Tuesday" Delivers NBA's Largest Pre-Christmas Tuesday Audience Since 1996
"Coast 2 Coast Tuesday" - featuring the New York Knicks at Milwaukee Bucks (8 p.m. ET) and LA Clippers at Golden State Warriors (11 p.m. ET) - averaged 3.0 million viewers in primetime across NBC and Peacock.
[10/28/25 - 02:07 PM]
"Sunday Night Football" on Record Pace Through Week 8, Averaging 24.7 Million Viewers on NBC and Peacock
Packers-Steelers audience peaked at 28.2 million viewers on NBC and Peacock in the second quarter (9:15-9:30 p.m. ET).
[10/28/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of October 20 - "A House of Dynamite" Hits the Target at No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
Plus: "Nobody Wants This," "The Elixir," and "The Monster of Florence" rise to the top in their opening weekends.
[10/27/25 - 12:03 PM]
Second-Most Viewed NBA Opening Week on ESPN Since 2014; "Inside the NBA" Averaged 1M Viewers in Its Opening Week Debut on ESPN
Last week's NBA coverage averaged 2.2 million viewers.
[10/24/25 - 02:54 PM]
ESPN's Third-Most Watched NBA Season-Opening Wednesday Ever
The two-game slate averaged 2.33 million viewers, up 44 percent from last year.
[10/24/25 - 02:02 PM]
"20/20" Is Friday's Most-Watched Newsmagazine Across the Board
In addition, "20/20" posted its best Adults 25-54 in more than four months.
[10/24/25 - 02:01 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 Across the Board, Leading NBC in All Key Demos for the 4th Straight Week
"Nightline" grew year to year across the board: Total Viewers, Adults 25-54, and Adults 18-49.
[10/24/25 - 01:05 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Makes Television History - Rising for Fifth Straight Week
The October 21 episode scored 6.63 million Total Viewers and a 1.38 rating among Adults 18-49, hitting new season highs in both demographics.
[10/23/25 - 02:33 PM]
Largest Audience for "NBA Tip-Off" Doubleheader Since 2010 as NBA Returned to NBC and Debuted on Peacock
Tuesday night's audience across NBC and Peacock peaked at 7.1 million viewers from 10:45-11 p.m. ET as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder to a one-point win over the Houston Rockets in double overtime.