Summer Of Cable, Part II: Record Viewership Again In Summer 2008

Hollywood Reporter:

It's been another good summer for cable.

Summer 2008 may not have generated as many ratings headlines for cable as last year, when Disney Channel's "High School Musical 2" blew away viewership records and there was a higher number of original scripted series bows.

But the ad-supported cable networks still are hitting record viewership deliveries this summer. According to Turner Research data released Tuesday, the sector collectively is averaging 6 million more primetime viewers than 2004, the most recent year that included a presidential election and a Summer Olympics.

That group, which includes most basic cable networks with exceptions like Disney Channel, is averaging 51 million total viewers in primetime from May 26-Aug. 17, continuing an annual trend of growing summertime viewership. That figure represents a 13% increase over 2004 but less than a 1% increase over 2007.

Read the whole story: Hollywood Reporter

Comments

[Humeaudenparker]

Burn Notice Rocks!

I am madly and desperately in love Gabrielle Anwar, I have a disturbingly strong man-crush on Jeffrey Donovan, Bruce Campbell is a hoot and Sharon Gless is fantastic.

[editrix66]

We love Burn Notice. It's smart, funny, tongue-in-cheek, and well-acted. And what's best is that there is nothing like it anywhere else on television. Great cast and great writing. Too bad it is only on during the summer.

[SlappHappy]

Burn Notice is the best show to hit TV screens in a long, long time. I look forward to it every week. The cast is tremendous, especially Bruce Campbell as Sam. Great show!

[wheelskeepturning]

Burn Notice is fun, fast edgy and sexy. Its like a modern day Miami Vice only without the cops and it doesn't take itself too seriously. I love it. Billy Campbell is great and so is Gabriel Anwar, oh and lets not forget Sharon Gless, she is great as the mom. Its a great cast and I really like the guy who got burned!

[deb813]

I love them all. It's nice to watch real character driven dramas(with a touch of comedy thrown in) any day over stupid ridiculous reality shows starring real people I could give a darn about. My favorites are Burn Notice and The Closer. And Holly Hunter rocks as Grace(and I never liked her in anything before).

[ProfessorDuh]

Mad Men! The best soap in decades.

[dadw5boys]

The Cable industry is hopeing there will be a lot of veiwers but not my home.

[anastasiabeaverhousen]

Give me Monk, Burn Notice, The Closer, etal., ANY DAY over the mindless reality shows the networks are so fond of.

[Nyk]

We love Monk and even the kids can watch Psych (in which the jokes are about 15 years older than the characters, but who's counting). Eureka is great if you're any kind of sci fi fan (but not for everyone). We watch very little network TV, cable has everything we really need.

[JJ30]

The Closer, Burn Notice and Army Wives are excellwnt shows that I look forward to watching every week. If anyone hasn't watched Army Wives, please give this show a shot. The show is phenomenal.

[shadowpoodle]

"The fact that we and others have held up well against the Olympics is a testament to the strength of our shows and the core audience"

I have cable shows I love too (It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia comes to mind as a show that could only happen on cable) but couldn't the fact that people have less disposable income have any relation to viewership? In a summer of "staycations" it's not really surprising that people would watch more television. Not hatin', just sayin'.

[AntonBursch]

Burn Notice is the first show that I have looked forward to watching as an adult. Intelligent and Fun with a big heart and heaps of wit. The show is a solid A every episode. If you haven't watched it, then you should rent the first season on dvd and start recording this seasons episodes. You don't have to have watched them all in a row to enjoy an episode, but there is an over arching story to the series.

[nellie]

Thanks for the tip. I don't have tv, but I download shows that I like from iTunes. I found Burn Notice there, so I'm going to check it out.

[Eric8869]

Because the networks have NOTHING ON. Who wants to watch American Gladiators or a new Knight RIder? UGH

[umichigan]

The best shows are on cable now, even if a lot of them are reruns. The major networks have lost their veiwers due to poor programming quality and choices.

[TeriMcCarthy]

I will venture to guess it is because Reality Shows are destroying network TV.

[kulenski]

i second that!

[Eric8869]

You can't lump all Reality shows together just like you can't lump all "sitcoms" together. There are big differences in qualtiy of programming.

Something like "Flava of Love" is utter trash but a show like 30 Days actually shows the human beings behind major issues. (immigration, gun control, gay rights etc). It's a very good show.

And for pure entertainment The Amazing Race is very fun. (It's won so many emmys)

So get over it - I'm sick of people blaming reality shows for everything. They are not all trash.