Articles

November 5, 2013
 

THE SKED Sunday Cable Scorecard – 11/3/13

 

AMC:  World Series, no World Series, THE WALKING DEAD really doesn’t care.  It was again the highest-rated show in all of primetime last week, network or cable, with a giant 6.8 rating–and that doesn’t count the additional 1.2 for the 11PM rerun.  TALKING DEAD was the second-highest cable show of the night with 2.3, and even the crumbs on Walking Dead‘s table are worth something, as a midnight episode of COMIC BOOK MEN scored a 0.5.

SHOWTIME:  This isn’t the place to dive into the transformation of HOMELAND from a serious adult drama into an upscale version of 24.  However divisive the show’s creative choices have been, though, they haven’t damaged its ratings, which remained as high as they’ve ever been, steady at 2M viewers and 0.8 in the 18-49 demo for the episode’s initial airing.  The fact that MASTERS OF SEX is running below the radar (effectively that probably means 0.3 in the demo at most) has little practical effect, since the series has already been renewed for next season and does very well on alternate platforms (5.4M viewers all-in last week compared to 6.7M for Homeland)–which count as much as any other for paycable networks–but it’s disappointing considering what a high-quality drama it’s proven to be.

HBO:  BOARDWALK EMPIRE was virtually neck-and-neck with HOMELAND, 0.8 in the demo and 1.9M in total viewers.  EASTBOUND & DOWN, nearing its home stretch, was at 0.5/800K, while HELLO LADIES was sub-radar.

LIFETIME:  WITCHES OF EAST END lost 100K 18-49 viewers and over 200K total viewers, but still barely rounded up to 0.7, technically keeping it even for the week.  DROP DEAD DIVA couldn’t quite manage that, dropping 0.1 to 0.5, although it was just about even in total viewers.

 



About the Author

Mitch Salem
MITCH SALEM has worked on the business side of the entertainment industry for 20 years, as a senior business affairs executive and attorney for such companies as NBC, ABC, USA, Syfy, Bravo, and BermanBraun Productions, and before that, at the NY law firm of Weil, Gotshal & Manges. During all that, he has more or less constantly been going to the movies and watching TV, and writing about both since the 1980s. His film reviews also currently appear on screened.com and the-burg.com. In addition, he is co-writer of an episode of the television series "Felicity."