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10/9: “Real Housewives of Atlanta” ratings modest
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We know what priorities are in the United States right now with the stock market tanking, the credit markets frozen and the Presidential campaign a month away. More than 63 million people saw the second presidential debate on various networks.
At the same time, Bravo debuted “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” to 656,000 viewers. That’s about 1 percent of the number of people who checked out the debate. (Of course, the show will get repeated numerous times so the number of people who ultimately see it will be significantly higher.)
For Bravo, that’s not a big number compared to its biggest shows such as “Project Runway” and “Top Chef” but comparable to the likes of “Kathy Griffin: Life on the D List” and “Flipping Out.” It’s also better than the opening frames for “The Real Housewives of the O.C.” (430,000 on March 21, 2006) and “The Real Housewives of New York City” (351,000 on March 31, 2008).
I don’t yet have local numbers but the “Housewives” probably drew fewer than 50,000 viewers.
The vice presidential debate last Thursday drew 70 million viewers. But the second debate drew more than the first presidential debate by about 10 million viewers. ABC this past Tuesday had the biggest audience with 13 million viewers, followed by NBC at 10.8 million and CBS at 9.4 million. CNN drew 9.2 million followed by Fox News at 8.8 million. Fox TV brought in 5.3 million, then MSNBC at 3.8 million.
The comedic shows are benefiting, too. “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” had its best month ever in September, averaging 2.2 million viewers. “The Colbert Report” also hit record numbers of 1.7 million viewers a night. And “Saturday Night Live” is seeing 50 percent increases on Saturday nights with 10 million people checking it out this past Saturday. Three primetime specials are scheduled the next three weeks, starting tonight after “The Office.” (Speaking of “The Office,” check out tonight’s “ethics” episode. It’s definitely one of the funnier ones they’ve done in some time — and it’s only 30 minutes long, not one of the stretched-out hour-long jobs.)
In other ratings news with Atlanta ramifications, Cartoon Network’s “Star Wars: Clone Wars” opened big last Friday night, drawing 4 million viewers, doubling the network’s usual performance at that time.
TNT’s “Raising the Bar” keeps slipping below the ratings bar. After opening at 7.7 million with “The Closer” as an opener, the show has slipped to 2.17 million on Sept. 26 in its fifth outing. Of course, it no longer has “The Closer” to fuel numbers but that’s still an alarming 72 percent falloff in ratings. And that’s down 10 percent from its fourth outing, the first one without “The Closer” to as its lead in. Yet the drama was given a green light for a second season after three episodes.
Permalink | Comments (12) | Post your comment | Categories: atlanta housewives
Comments
By Mr. Good Taste
October 10, 2008 8:48 AM | Link to this
So the “Clone Wars” cartoon had seven times as many viewers as the “Real S** Housewives of Atlanta” … at least 4 million people still have their viewing priorities in order!
By Carlos
October 10, 2008 3:06 PM | Link to this
Bravo is turning into another VH-1.
By Chief Wiggum
October 11, 2008 2:15 PM | Link to this
Good to see the ratings pretty much tanked for that train wreck. The last thing we need is a bunch of clueless, self-absorbed gold-diggers. I’m so glad I live in a different world than they do…they’d make me ill if I had to deal with them.
By Snoopermom
October 14, 2008 9:26 AM | Link to this
I’ve watched Raising the Bar … it was OK at first, but every episode is exactly the same … last night I only watched the start of the program to see what was happening, then tuned back in at the end to see how the cases were resolved. I don’t feel like I missed much in the middle.
By TruthHurts
October 14, 2008 10:40 AM | Link to this
I’d rather watch a turtle crawl across Bankhead Highway than watch these nasty, ho-ish, s**.
By andrea
October 14, 2008 3:59 PM | Link to this
I have watched the show the Real Housewives of Atlanta and it was completely distasteful and awful. Those woman should be ashamed of themselves and how they were portrayed. It is a sad person who thinks that they looked good in that light. Even if I had that much money, I would not want to be remembered as a selfish, self-centered lack of substance, Real Housewife.
By Alesia
October 14, 2008 5:31 PM | Link to this
I enjoyed Real Housewives! It is a REALITY show; one of hundreds - it’s entertainment people.
By realwife
October 14, 2008 5:36 PM | Link to this
I watched part of the first episode, but I must admit, I wasn’t able to deal with it. These women were full of themselves and trying so hard to “prove” their wealth, that they looked like a bunch of women who have never had anything and don’t know how to act with a little money. The only one I could tolerate was Lisa. She knows she has plenty of money, but doesn’t need an entourage to prove it to everyone else. One thing is for sure with these ladies: Money certainly does not equal class. Money- they have plenty, but class, they are sorely lacking. I won’t be watching these so called women anymore.
By GoldDigga
October 14, 2008 7:58 PM | Link to this
Where can I find me some athalete money?
By m
October 14, 2008 11:52 PM | Link to this
pathetic.
By Lucy
October 18, 2008 7:10 PM | Link to this
Very sad representation of the women of Atlanta. While they should be embarrased, I am sure they are not. The appear to be the type of women who thrive on being the center of attention. These women all come from “new” money - and money they did not even make on their own. Very pathetic.
By london
October 22, 2008 12:17 PM | Link to this
Why is everybody so emotional over a TV show and nobody wants to see black people who are about the business of helping others using their minds and maybe their money. Go somewhere and read a newspaper. These women only represent themselves, not you nor me. These are the lives of these particular women, if this is how they do it then so be it. I love the show, it is not bad by far, but I wonder if it were an all white cast would they be getting the same response. You all should have the common sense to know that Bravo edits to make good TV, they are certainly getting the response they’d hoped for, and I am glad they are getting a response. Hopefully, a second season.
Leave these women alone, they are just having fun and enjoying life for the moment. It’s TV and if giving the opportunity, we would all probably flaunt something about ourselves, positive or negative, one way or another. If you DO NOT want to watch the show then turn off your TV, if you watch the show then say something nice and support these women. We have been watching the various Caucasian shows for years without an utter. The reason why everybody is in an uproar is because you cannot identify their lifestyle and with anything that is foreign it never makes any sense. Fortunately, not everybody is affected by the economy, therefore they are able to spend as they please.