Tuesday, March 08, 2005

Ratings News

HIGH-FLYING FEBRUARY FOR NBC UNIVERSAL CABLE GROUP
Released by NBC Universal Television Studios
ORIGINAL PROGRAMS LIKE 'MONK,' 'BATTLESTAR GALACTICA' AND 'PROJECT RUNWAY' PACE NBCU'S BREAKTHROUGH MONTH
BURBANK, Calif. -- March 7, 2005 -- The cable networks of NBC Universal have concluded their most successful February ever, with USA, SCI FI and Bravo each hitting significant milestones of growth and competitiveness, according to in-home viewing figures from Nielsen Media Research.
USA Network finished the month of February as the #1 cable network for original programming in the key demographic of adults 25-54. USA's performance was led by the hit series "Monk," the #1 original program on basic cable in February in adults 25-54, averaging 2.5 million viewers in that key demographic and a 4.0 household rating for its Friday 10 p.m. first-run episodes. Four of the top five series program telecasts on cable in February in adults 25-54 were episodes of "Monk." Add to those four "Monk" episodes, two USA telecasts of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" and two episodes of SCI FI's hit series "Battlestar Galactica" and NBC Universal Cable networks account for an astonishing eight of the top ten series program telecasts on cable in February in adults 25-54.*
Paced by the phenomenal performance of the original series "Battlestar Galactica," "Stargate Atlantis" and "Stargate SG-1," SCI FI has just wrapped a banner month in February 2005. The network posted remarkable growth of 29 percent in adults 18-49 and 22 percent in adults 25-54 versus February 2004. SCI FI also achieved explosive growth of 40 percent in the valuable adult 18-34 demographic. With an average delivery of 795,000 adults 25-54, SCI FI ranked #5 among all basic cable networks in February. And the SCI FI series "Battlestar Galactica" ranked #2 among all primetime cable programs in February, second only to USA's "Monk"(excluding sports and series that were limited to three or fewer telecasts in February).**
And the cable networks of NBC Universal Entertainment dominated Friday nights in February with SCI FI Channel and USA Network's acclaimed original series "Battlestar Galactica," "Stargate Atlantis," "Stargate SG-1" (all on SCI FI) and "Monk" (on USA).
In a remarkable run, SCI FI and USA have ranked either #1 or #2 in both adults 18-49 and adults 25-54 on every Friday night of the February sweep (Feb. 4, 11, 18 and 25). In fact, since the Jan. 14 premiere of "Battlestar Galactica," SCI FI has been the #1 cable network in adults 18-49 on four out of six Fridays (ranking #2 the other two) and was the #1 cable net in adults 25-54 on five out of six Fridays (ranking #2 once). Similarly since the Jan. 21 premiere of "Monk," USA has typically ranked #1 or #2 in both adults 18-49 and adults 25-54 (and has never ranked below #3) out of all 66 measured cable networks.
And with their original programming SCI FI and USA have all but taken over the Friday cable program rankings. Friday, Feb. 25, was typical, as SCI FI and USA together accounted for four of the top five and seven of the top 10 programs on cable among adults 25-54.


For the Full article, go to The Futon Critic

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