CABLE - The most interesting bit of finale news on cable last week came from The Glee Project (1.24m/.4). The numbers aren’t particularly interesting, mind you, but the finale was. In case you missed it, all four of the finalists won (kind of), and will be appearing on the show. In a TV world with an overabundance of competition/reality shows, that bit surprised me, and made the show stand out.
Also interesting was the jump in the numbers for MTV’s Awkward (2.36m/1.2). The show gets lost in the noise as most of the attention goes to Jersey Shore, but it’s worth checking out if you haven’t seen it. Meanwhile, Jersey Shore (8.47m/4.5) was again earning some of that coverage, easily taking the top spot on cable for the week. That 4.5 demo also topped everything on the networks, including Sunday Night Football. What’s more, the #2 cable show for Thursday was the rebroadcast right after the new episode (3.28m/1.7).
Finally, we’ve mentioned it before, but it is worth noting again just how well repeats of NCIS (3.88m/.9) do on USA. That is a random episode from last Wednesday. As you look through the rest of the cable numbers, take note of how many new episodes fall below the Gibbsian bar.
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NBC - The week started out rather well, with preseason football on Sunday (9.59m/3.3). As mentioned last week, that is a solid summer number, but about half of what one would expect once the regular season gets under way. There was more good news from America’s Got Talent (11.99m/3.3 – 11.12m/2.9), which regained some of the audience from earlier in the summer. There were also the usual results for It’s Worth What (4.32m/1.1) and Friends With Benefits (2.66m/.7 – 2m/.6). The big surprise might have been how well the American Ninja Warrior finale (4.1m/1.7) did when moved from G4 to NBC. Not great in the bigger network picture, but much better than I would have expected.
CBS - Big Brother (8.82m/3.3 – 7.95m/2.9 – 8.15m/3.1) made up all of the new programming for CBS last week.
FOX - A double-shot of Hell’s Kitchen (6.07m/2.5 – 6.42m/2.7) was the highlight of the week. The show just continues to cruise along steadily. Unfortunately, the latest attempts at new summer shows are not working out nearly as well. In The Flow (2.47m/1.2) was unimpressive in week two, and the premiere of Buried Treasure (3.67m/1) was largely ignored.
ABC - Summer continues to grind to a slow halt for ABC. After The Bachelorette left, it has been a bleak run. That trend continued last week with Bachelor Pad (6.13m/1.9), Take The Money & Run (4.1m/1.6), Combat Hospital (3.39m/1), Wipeout (5.81m/1.6), Expedition Impossible (4.61m/1.1), and Rookie Blue (4.89m/1.2).
Clacked by Brett Love 
on Aug 29, 2011 @ 10:00 EST5EDT
