or


[04/07/11 - 11:04 AM]
Q1 2011 Cable Ratings Recap: "The Game," "Tosh.0" & "Spartacus" See Largest Growth Among Scripted Series
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC)

Please note: As a courtesy, please do not reproduce these comments to newsgroups, forums or other online places. Links only please.

LOS ANGELES (thefutoncritic.com) -- The first quarter of 2011 wrapped with mixed results for cable's scripted offerings.

While shows like BET's "The Game" and Comedy Central's "Tosh.0" more than doubled their previous season's audience, four others - USA's "Royal Pains," HBO's "Big Love," TV Land's "Hot in Cleveland" and Showtime's "Californication" - saw significant declines in both total viewers and adults 18-49.

Here's a breakdown of how the 16 returning series fared this past quarter*:

CHANGE IN TOTAL VIEWERS

+167.08% - The Game
(4.527 million; BET, 1/11/11-3/29/11 vs. The CW, 10/3/08-1/23/09)

+115.18% - Tosh.0
(3.204 million; Comedy, 1/11/11-3/15/11 vs. 1/13/10-3/10/10)

+58.18% - Spartacus
(1.286 million; Starz, 1/21/11-2/25/11 vs. 1/22/10-2/26/10)

+29.17% - Army Wives
(3.914 million; Lifetime, 3/6/11-4/3/11 vs. 4/11/10-5/9/10)

+20.87% - Pretty Little Liars
(3.116 million; ABC Family, 1/3/11-3/21/11 vs. 6/8/10-8/10/10)

+16.12% - Merlin
(1.462 million; Syfy, 1/7/11-4/1/11 vs. 4/2/10-6/25/10)

+14.62% - Archer
(1.113 million; FX, 1/27/11-3/31/11 vs. 1/14/10-3/18/10)

+3.69% - Greek
(0.956 million; ABC Family, 1/3/11-3/7/11 vs. 1/25/10-3/29/10)

-1.02% - Justified
(2.632 million; FX, 2/9/11-3/30/11 vs. 3/16/10-5/4/10)

-6.88% - Southland
(1.991 million; TNT, 1/4/11-3/8/11 vs. 3/2/10-4/6/10)

-6.88% - White Collar
(3.572 million; USA, 1/18/11-3/8/11 vs. 1/19/10-3/9/10)

-25.38% - Royal Pains
(4.075 million; USA, 1/20/11-2/24/11 vs. 6/3/10-7/15/10)

-29.02% - Big Love
(1.152 million; HBO, 1/16/11-3/20/11 vs. 1/10/10-3/7/10)

-34.03% - Hot in Cleveland
(2.059 million; TV Land, 1/19/11-3/23/11 vs. 6/16/10-8/18/10)

-34.46% - Californication
(0.542 million; Showtime, 1/9/11-3/27/11 vs. 9/27/09-12/13/09)

-37.25% - Stargate Universe
(0.913 million; Syfy, 3/7/11-3/28/11 vs. 4/2/10-4/23/10)

CHANGE IN ADULTS 18-49

+214.29% - The Game
(2.2 rating; BET, 1/11/11-3/29/11 vs. The CW, 10/3/08-1/23/09)

+137.50% - Tosh.0
(1.9 rating; Comedy, 1/11/11-3/15/11 vs. 1/13/10-3/10/10)

+50.00% - Spartacus
(0.6 rating; Starz, 1/21/11-2/25/11 vs. 1/22/10-2/26/10)

+30.00% - Army Wives
(1.3 rating; Lifetime, 3/6/11-4/3/11 vs. 4/11/10-5/9/10)

+22.22% - Pretty Little Liars
(1.1 rating; ABC Family, 1/3/11-3/21/11 vs. 6/8/10-8/10/10)

+20.00% - Archer
(0.6 rating; FX, 1/27/11-3/31/11 vs. 1/14/10-3/18/10)

no change - Merlin
(0.4 rating; Syfy, 1/7/11-4/1/11 vs. 4/2/10-6/25/10)

no change - Greek
(0.4 rating; ABC Family, 1/3/11-3/7/11 vs. 1/25/10-3/29/10)

no change - Stargate Universe
(0.5 rating; Syfy, 3/7/11-3/28/11 vs. 4/2/10-4/23/10)

-7.69% - White Collar
(1.2 rating; USA, 1/18/11-3/8/11 vs. 1/19/10-3/9/10)

-10.00% - Justified
(0.9 rating; FX, 2/9/11-3/30/11 vs. 3/16/10-5/4/10)

-12.50% - Southland
(0.7 rating; TNT, 1/4/11-3/8/11 vs. 3/2/10-4/6/10)

-35.29% - Royal Pains
(1.1 rating; USA, 1/20/11-2/24/11 vs. 6/3/10-7/15/10)

-37.50% - Big Love
(0.5 rating; HBO, 1/16/11-3/20/11 vs. 1/10/10-3/7/10)

-37.50% - Hot in Cleveland
(0.5 rating; TV Land, 1/19/11-3/23/11 vs. 6/16/10-8/18/10)

-50.00% - Californication
(0.2 rating; Showtime, 1/9/11-3/27/11 vs. 9/27/09-12/13/09)

Please note: As a courtesy, please do not reproduce these comments to newsgroups, forums or other online places. Links only please.

Meanwhile, on the newcomer front USA's "Fairly Legal" led the scripted pack in total viewers while BET's "Let's Stay Together" was the top demo draw*:

TOTAL VIEWERS

3.554 million - Fairly Legal
(USA, 1/20/11-3/24/11)

2.526 million - Let's Stay Together
(BET, 1/18/11-3/29/11)

2.241 million - Breakout Kings
(A&E, 3/6/11-4/3/11)

1.477 million - Being Human
(Syfy, 1/17/11-3/28/11)

1.395 million - Skins
(MTV, 1/17/11-3/21/11)

1.360 million - Retired at 35
(TV Land, 1/19/11-3/23/11)

1.240 million - Onion SportsDome
(Comedy, 1/11/11-2/15/11)

1.029 million - Shameless
(Showtime, 1/9/11-3/27/11)

0.828 million - Lights Out
(FX, 1/11/11-3/29/11)

0.508 million - Episodes
(Showtime, 1/9/11-2/20/11)

ADULTS 18-49

1.2 rating - Let's Stay Together
(BET, 1/18/11-3/29/11)

0.9 rating - Fairly Legal
(USA, 1/20/11-3/24/11)

0.9 rating - Breakout Kings
(A&E, 3/6/11-4/3/11)

0.7 rating - Onion SportsDome
(Comedy, 1/11/11-2/15/11)

0.6 rating - Being Human
(Syfy, 1/17/11-3/28/11)

0.6 rating - Skins
(MTV, 1/17/11-3/21/11)

0.5 rating - Shameless
(Showtime, 1/9/11-3/27/11)

0.4 rating - Lights Out
(FX, 1/11/11-3/29/11)

0.3 rating - Retired at 35
(TV Land, 1/19/11-3/23/11)

0.2 rating - Episodes
(Showtime, 1/9/11-2/20/11)

* Source: Nielsen Media Research, 1/2/11-4/3/11; excludes Cartoon Network, Disney Channel, E! & Nickelodeon as their complete data was not available. Comparisons, if possible, made with the same number of episodes aired from previous season or year-to-year period.





  [april 2011]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
     


· ARCHER (FXX)
· ARMY WIVES (LIFETIME)
· BEING HUMAN (SYFY)
· BIG LOVE (HBO)
· BREAKOUT KINGS (A AND E)
· CALIFORNICATION (SHOWTIME)
· EPISODES (SHOWTIME)
· FAIRLY LEGAL (USA)
· FUTON'S RATINGS SURVIVAL GUIDES (TFC)
· GAME, THE (BET)
· GREEK (ABC FAMILY)
· HOT IN CLEVELAND (TV LAND)
· JUSTIFIED (FX)
· LET'S STAY TOGETHER (BET)
· LIGHTS OUT (FX)
· MERLIN (SYFY)
· ONION SPORTSDOME (COMEDY CENTRAL)
· PRETTY LITTLE LIARS (FREEFORM)
· RETIRED AT 35 (TV LAND)
· ROYAL PAINS (USA)
· SHAMELESS (SHOWTIME)
· SKINS (MTV)
· SOUTHLAND (TNT)
· SPARTACUS (STARZ)
· STARGATE UNIVERSE (SYFY)
· TOSH.0 (COMEDY CENTRAL)
· WHITE COLLAR (USA)




most recent ratings | view all posts
[01/28/26 - 06:36 AM]
FOX Scores 46 Million Viewers for NFC Championship Between NFC West Rivals
The Seahawks are soaring to the Super Bowl.
[01/28/26 - 06:01 AM]
AFC Championship Game Is This Year's Most-Watched NFL Postseason Game as "NFL on CBS" Caps Off Record-Setting Season
Patriots-Broncos averaged 48,618,000 viewers and peaked with 57,759,000.
[01/27/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of January 19 - "The Rip" Is Right on the Money at No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
Audiences kept the suspense going as they streamed the murder-mystery thriller "His & Hers," putting the series at No. 1 on the English TV list with 17.2 million views.

[01/26/26 - 01:23 PM]
UFC Delivers Historic Night in Paramount+ Debut
UFC 324 on Saturday, January 24 delivered nearly five million streaming views and over seven million households, the platform's largest exclusive live event to date.

[01/23/26 - 12:44 PM]
"20/20" Improves on the Previous Week in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49, Hitting an 8-Week High in the Key Adult News Demo
"20/20" ranked No. 1 in its two-hour time period in Adults 25-54.
[01/23/26 - 12:28 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers
"Nightline" posted double-digit increases week to week in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49.
[01/23/26 - 10:31 AM]
"College GameDay Built by The Home Depot" Closes Out Historic Season with 2.6 Million Viewers Highlighting Hurricanes and Hoosiers
The six postseason GameDay shows delivered 2.4 million average viewers, up 30 percent year-over-year.
[01/23/26 - 07:37 AM]
Historic Back-to-Back Stretch: ESPN Delivers Its No. 1 and No. 8 Most-Watched Events Ever on Consecutive Days
Across Sunday and Monday, fans consumed 18.7 billion total minutes across ESPN, ABC and ESPN2 - a 28% increase from last season's Divisional Round game and Championship Monday on the same networks.
[01/22/26 - 03:39 PM]
Special Premiere of "The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins" Is the Season's Most-Watched Comedy Episode
The series drew 5.8 million viewers and a 1.4 rating in the 18-49 demo in its special premiere that aired Sunday, January 18.

[01/22/26 - 02:05 PM]
ESPN's MegaCast of the College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T Delivers 30.1 Million Viewers - The Most-Viewed College Football Game in 11 Years
The game scored 30.1 million viewers, the most-watched college football game since the inaugural CFP National Championship (33.9 million viewers, Oregon/Ohio State, 2014-15) and the second most-watched National Championship of the CFP era.
[01/22/26 - 12:48 PM]
ABC Wednesday Comedies Score with Stellar Midseason Premieres
"Shifting Gears" and "Abbott Elementary" are among top scripted shows of the week in adults 18-49.
[01/22/26 - 07:58 AM]
NBC Sports Delivers Its Most Watched NFL Divisional Playoff Game on Record as Rams-Bears Thriller Averages 45.4 Million Viewers on NBC & Peacock
The audience for Rams-Bears - which increased in every quarter hour from 8:15 p.m. ET until the game-winning score - peaked in the game's closing minutes, with an average of 52.6 million viewers from 9:45-10 pm ET.
[01/21/26 - 10:58 AM]
ABC's Tuesday Dramas Soar with Midseason Premieres
In fact, "High Potential" and "Will Trent" were the top two scripted programs of the week among Total Viewers.
[01/20/26 - 01:01 PM]
Netflix: What We Watched the Second Half of 2025
"KPop Demon Hunters" took the world by storm, breaking records as our most-watched title over a six-month period with 482M views.
[01/20/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of January 12 - "The Rip" Confiscates the No. 1 Spot in This Week's Top 10
Mistrust was the theme of the week, as viewers put the murder-mystery thriller "His & Hers" at No. 1 on the English TV list with 29.5 million views.