USA Grabs Ratings Win, With Poor MNF Matchup
Anthony Crupi
DECEMBER 18, 2007 -

ESPN tumbled from the top of the cable ratings heap last week, as an unpromising Monday Night Football matchup between the lowly Atlanta Falcons and a middling New Orleans Saints franchise posted the lowest audience numbers in the 37-year history of the pigskin showcase.

The Falcons-Saints affair averaged 8.45 million viewers on the night of Dec. 10, a drop of 52 percent versus the previous week’s contest pitting the unbeatable New England Patriots against the gutsy Ravens from Baltimore. (In squeaking past the Ravens 27-24, New England helped scare up the single largest cable audience in history, averaging 17.5 million viewers according to Nielsen Media Research live-plus-same-day data.)

This season, Atlanta has been particularly adept at chasing away potential viewers; the beleagured Falcons also starred in the second lowest-rated MNF game of all time when it hosted the New York Giants on Oct. 15. That contest averaged just 8.48 million viewers.

That said, MNF still put up the week’s biggest numbers for a single program, beating all comers in terms of overall delivery and two demos: adults 18-49 (4.63 million) and adults 25-54 (4.51 million). MTV’s The Hills nailed down the 18-34 set, with an average delivery of 2.9 million members of the demo tuning in last Monday night; moreover, the season finale retained most of its viewers as 2.45 million 18-34s stayed around for a special half-hour live aftershow.

With ESPN out of the way, USA Network enjoyed an open-field run to the top spot in prime time, averaging 2.95 million viewers for the week ended Dec. 16, while winning the 18-49 (1.39 million) and 25-54 demos (1.36 million). A three-hour special marking the 15th anniversary of WWE Raw averaged 5.76 million viewers Monday night between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m., while notching its best demo number in the final hour with 3.23 million viewers 18-49.

USA also continued to get mileage out of its new episodes of Law & Order: Criminal Intent, as the latest installment of the cops-n-courts drama averaged 4.34 million viewers and 1.97 million 18-49s Thursday night at 10 p.m.

ABC Family climbed into the two-spot with 2.58 million total viewers, as its 25 Days of Christmas stunt delivered many happy returns. The net landed in the top five among all three major demos, serving up its best number with 1.14 million adults 18-49.

The Dec. 15 premiere of ABC Family’s latest original holiday movie, Snowglobe, drew 4.38 million viewers and 1.93 million 25-54s, rating just below last year’s hit Santa Baby, which drew 4.73 million viewers. (The 2006 Jenny McCarthy confection stands as the most-watched movie released under the ABC Family imprimatur.) The network also put up a big number with its presentation of the 2004 Pixar feature, The Incredibles, which averaged just over 4.3 million viewers Sunday night at 7 p.m.

Third place among ad-supported nets went to TNT, which averaged 2.46 million viewers in prime, thanks in large part to a screening of the 2003 theatrical The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, which averaged 4.07 million viewers Sunday night. The final installment in director Peter Jackson’s Tolkien trilogy also put up sizable demo numbers, including 2.42 million 25-54s and 2.41 million 18-49s.

For the week, TNT hung tough in terms of its core demo delivery, taking second among 25-54s with 1.28 million and third among 18-49s (1.21 million). The Turner net also managed some decent younger numbers, taking fourth place on the week with 553,000 18-34s.

Sailing into fourth place, TBS averaged 2.27 million viewers during a week that saw it win the 18-34 demo outright with an average delivery of 741,000. TBS also took second in the 18-49 demo (1.29 million) and finished third among the 25-54 crowd (1.17 million). The network served up its single largest audience of the week with a new episode of House of Payne, which averaged 3.25 million viewers Wednesday night at 10 p.m.

Lifetime edged out ESPN for a fifth-place finish, averaging 2.03 million viewers last week. Since Dec. 1, when the network began its “Fa La La La Lifetime” programming stunt––slotting a holiday-themed movie every night at 9 p.m.––its delivery of women 18-34 is up 17 percent. Lifetime last week achieved its best demo showing with its delivery of women 25-54, averaging 618,000, good for a fourth-place finish.

Non-ad-supported Disney Channel took the bronze among all basic cable nets last week, averaging 2.57 million total viewers. The Mouse won over its largest audience of the week with a showing of the animated Tom Hanks feature, The Polar Express, which averaged 4.14 million viewers Thursday night between 8 p.m. and 9:50 p.m.

As has been the case for more than two years and counting, Disney dominated the footy-pajama demos, averaging 1.32 million kids 2-11 and 1.02 million kids 6-11. Among ‘tweens, the Mouse again reigned supreme, serving up 906,000 viewers 9-14 in prime.