|
CABLE WORLD STAFF
TBS Superstation may be one of cable's oldest cable networks, but it's just a pup when it comes to the highly competitive world of original movies. That's why spirits were high in Atlanta last week when Nielsen Media Research numbers showed that the network's third stab at telefilms, First Daughter earned a 5.3 rating, pulling in 5.3 million households, when it debuted Aug. 15.
It was the network's biggest audience for any single program ever.
But wait, there's more. Those numbers propelled First Daughter, starring Mariel Hemingway in a tale about the kidnapping of president's daughter on a camping trip, to the top of cable ratings for the week of Aug. 9-15.
The telefilm also became basic cable's highest-rated movie of the year, TBS executives said last week.
It also delivered TBS' largest audience ever for a single program and, if you can stand any more of this, put the network in third place among all broadcast and cable networks in the 8-11 p.m. time slot for Aug. 15. Last, but not least, Daughter lured more men into the fold for that time slot than any of the broadcast networks.
Cable kicked heinie overall during the weekend of Aug.14-15. VH1's first stab at telefilms, Sweetwater, A True Rock story, brought in the music network's fourth biggest audience to date and Nickelodeon's new SpongeBob SquarePants animated series took over as the highest rated cable or broadcast series among kids 2-11 on Saturday mornings.
Nielsen's top ten rankings for basic cable during the week of Aug. 9-15:
1 First Daughter, TBS, (Aug. 15, 8 p.m. EDT) 5.3 rating
2 WWF Sports Entertainment, USA, (Aug. 16, 10 p.m.) 5.0 rating
3 WWF Sports Entertainment, USA, (Aug 16, 9 p.m.) 4.7 rating
4 Movie: If Someone Had Known, Lifetime, (Aug. 15, 4 p.m.) 3.5 rating
5 WWF Sunday Night Heat, USA, (Aug. 15, 7 p.m.) 3.4 rating
6 NASCAR Winston Cup, ESPN, (Aug. 15, 12:30 p.m.) 3.2 rating
7 First Daughter, TBS, (Aug. 15, 10:02 p.m.) 3.0 rating
8 WCW Monday Nitro Live, TNT, (Aug. 16, 8 p.m.) 2.8 rating
9 NFL Pre-season: N.Y.Giants at Minnesota (Aug. 14, 8:15 p.m.) 2.6 rating
10 Movie: Legionnaire, USA (Aug. 10, 9 p.m.) 2.6 rating
Back to this issue
|
