Santa Monica : VH1 is still smoking as summer comes to a close with three hot series' premieres this past Monday evening.  VH1's "Basketball Wives" season 3, Part 2 of the reunion special, "La La's Full Court Life," and the third season of "The T.O. Show" all scored ratings wins across the board.  Overall, the premieres and first encores made VH1 the most watched cable network among women 18-49 and women 18-34 for the 8pm-12am time period on Monday night.

Monday night's 8:00pm third season Part 2  reunion special, premiere of "Basketball Wives" scored a 1.7 in the key 18-49 demo – on par with last week's record-breaking 1.7 premiere in the 18-49 demo rating for Part 1. A total of 2.9 million viewers tuned-in on average. In addition, "Basketball Wives" was the #2 non-sports cable telecast among viewers 18-49 and #1 cable telecast among women 18-49 including sports programming. When combined with its 11pm* encore episode, the series brought in 4.2 million total viewers to VH1 Monday night.

At 9:00pm*, the premiere of VH1's "La La's Full Court Life" also drew an impressive series-high of 1.1 rating in the 18-49 demo, up 22% from La La's season 1 premiere and 1.8 million total viewers.  When combined with its first encore, "La La's Full Court Life" drew in 2.9 million total viewers.

Bringing VH1's successful Monday night to a close at 9:30pm* the season three premiere of "The T.O. Show," garnered a 1.0 rating in the 18-49 demo, up 61% from the season 2 average rating. The premiere and first encore of "The T.O. Show" scored a combined number of 2.3 million total viewers.

"Basketball Wives"

Shed Media produces "Basketball Wives" Executive producing for Shed Media are Nick Emmerson, Jennifer O'Connell, Alex Demyanenko and Sean Rankine. Tom Huffman is a consulting producer. Shaunie O'Neal and Phil Robinson are executive producers.  Executive producing for VH1 are Jill Holmes, Noah Pollack and Jeff Olde.

"LA LA'S FULL COURT LIFE"

The ten, half-hour episode series is executive produced by Cris Abrego for 51 Minds Entertainment, La La Anthony and Carmelo Anthony for Krossover Entertainment, and Steven Grossman on behalf of The Collective. The series was created by Cris Abrego, La La Anthony and Steven Grossman.  51 Minds is an LLC Endemol Company, who also produced the record-breaking series "Rock of Love," "Flavor of Love," "Charm School," and "I Love New York."  The production teams' programming launched VH1 into their highest ratings ever. Ben Samek and Rabih Gholam are also executive producers for the series and the company. For VH1, the series is executive produced by Jill Holmes, Kristen Kelly and Jeff Olde.

"The T.O. Show" Season 3

The ten, half-hour episode series is executive produced by Jesse Ignjatovic and Evan Prager for Den of Thieves, and Terrell Owens. Co-Executive Producers are Jeff Altrock and Eric Detwiler for Den of Thieves and Monique Jackson and Kita Williams. For VH1, the series is executive produced by Jill Holmes, Noah Pollack and Jeff Olde. Founded in 2007 by Jesse Ignjatovic and Evan Prager, Den of Thieves has quickly emerged as a force for ambitious event shows and uniquely stylized reality television series. Using their extensive experience working with talent, Ignjatovic and Prager launched Den of Thieves as the TV arm of the Warner Music Group in 2007.  After a successful three year partnership there, they branched out and are now fully independent.  With an array of formats ranging from Comedy Central's stand-up special "Russell Brand in NYC" to VH1's "The T.O. Show" to the MTV Video Music Awards, Den of Thieves continues to create, develop and produce original television.

Cable's Biggest New Series of the Year Captures 5.6 Million Viewers for U.S. Season Finale, Making it the Most-Watched Episode Since the Series Premiere

Falling Skies Earns Big Audiences and Record-Setting Performances in Markets that Include the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Australia and Latin America

TNT’s Falling Skies , the #1 new basic cable series in the United States – ended its first season Sunday night with 5,623,000 viewers, plus an outstanding 2,531,000 adults 18-49 and 2,835,000 adults 25-54. These Live + Same Day deliveries mark the show’s best performance since the June 19 premiere. After scoring cable’s top new series launch of the year, Falling Skies ranks as basic cable’s #1 new show of 2011 among viewers and tops all scripted basic cable series this summer with adults 18-49 and 25-54. TNT has already renewed Falling Skies for a 10-episode second season, slated for 2012.

Falling Skies  which stars Noah Wyle and comes to TNT from DreamWorks Television, TNT Productions and executive producer Steven Spielberg – also premiered in markets worldwide this summer, marking the first time a TNT series was launched around the globe. The series will ultimately appear in more than 115 international markets on a variety of networks. Falling Skies has been a hit in the United Kingdom, Australia and Latin America, among many other places. Falling Skies set records in numerous markets, including Spain, Germany and Austria, where the premiere ranked as the best series launch ever for TNT networks in those countries.

“The terrific performance of Falling Skies shows that a compelling series appeals to people of every background,” said Michael Wright, executive vice president and head of programming for TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies (TCM). “We’ve had the privilege of working with a terrific cast and crew, led by Steven Spielberg and our partners at DreamWorks. All of us are excited that Falling Skies has become a global success.”

Falling Skies premiered on TNT in the United States June 19, drawing 5.9 million viewers in Live + Same Day. For the season overall, Falling Skies averaged 4.8 million viewers in Live + Same Day delivery, with 2.1 million adults 18-49 and 2.5 million adults 25-54. The show has performed exceptionally well in time-shifted viewing, averaging a strong 48% boost among total viewers when comparing Live + 7 to Live + Same Day deliveries, with gains of 58% among adults 18-49 and 54% among adults 25-54. The Live + 7 total for the season finale will be available Aug. 22.

TNT partnered with Turner Broadcasting System International, Inc. for worldwide distribution of the first season. Warner Bros. International Television holds licensing rights for Canada.

Falling Skies takes place in the chaotic aftermath of an alien attack that has left most of the world completely incapacitated. Tom Mason (Wyle), a Boston history professor and the father of three sons, must put his extensive knowledge of military history to the test as second in command of a regiment of resistance fighters protecting a large group of civilian survivors. Falling Skies also stars Moon Bloodgood, Will Patton, Drew Roy, Maxim Knight, Connor Jessup, Colin Cunningham, Sarah Sanguin Carter, Seychelle Gabriel, Mpho Koaho and Peter Shinkoda.

Falling Skies is executive-produced by Steven Spielberg, along with DreamWorks Television heads Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank, Graham Yost and screenwriter Robert Rodat, who wrote the pilot from an idea he co-conceived with Spielberg. Mark Verheiden and Greg Beeman serve as co-executive producers.

TNT’s blockbuster hit The Closer scored a massive audience of 9.3 million viewers in Live + 7 delivery for its July 11 season premiere. Rizzoli & Isles followed with a remarkable 8.6 million viewers in Live + 7.

Both season premieres rank as basic cable’s top scripted telecasts for the year-to-date and, combined with the June 19 series premiere of Falling Skies, mark the first time in basic cable history that three shows have premiered with at least 8.0 million viewers in the same year.

The Closer’s strong seventh season premiere outpaced last year’s sixth season premiere by 5%. Among key adult demos, the seventh season premiere of The Closer scored 2.7 million adults 18-49 and 3.5 million adults 25-54, while the Rizzoli & Isles season premiere delivered more than 2.3 million adults 18-49 and 3.1 million adults 25-54.

The Closer stars Emmy winner Kyra Sedgwick as Deputy Police Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson, a top-notch investigator whose career may now be on the line as a result of her frequently unorthodox methods. The Closer’s seventh season will feature 10 episodes this summer, with additional episodes in the winter and the conclusion of the series in 2012. The Closer will be followed next year by the new series Major Crimes. Created by James Duff, The Closer is produced for TNT by The Shephard/Robin Company, in association with Warner Bros. Television.

Based on characters created by best-selling crime novelist Tess Gerritsen, Rizzoli & Isles stars Angie Harmon as Jane Rizzoli, a tough-as-nails Boston police detective, and Sasha Alexander as Maura Isles, a smart, impeccably dressed medical examiner from a privileged background. Despite being complete opposites, the two women share an offbeat chemistry and strong working relationship that has helped them bust some of Boston’s most notorious criminals. Rizzoli & Isles ranked as basic cable’s #1 series during its first season. It is currently neck-and-neck with The Closer for 2011. Rizzoli & Isles is produced for TNT by Warner Horizon Television, Janet Tamaro’s Hurdler Productions and Bill Haber’s Ostar Productions.

Falling Skies takes place in the chaotic aftermath of an alien attack that has left most of the world completely incapacitated. Noah Wyle stars as Tom Mason, a Boston history professor and the father of three sons, must put his extensive knowledge of military history to the test as second in command of a regiment of resistance fighters protecting a large group of civilian survivors. Falling Skies also stars Moon Bloodgood. Will Patton, Drew Roy, Maxim Knight, Connor Jessup, Colin Cunningham, Sarah Sanguin Carter, Seychelle Gabriel, Mpho Koaho and Peter Shinkoda. Falling Skies comes to TNT from DreamWorks Television and is executive-produced by Steven Spielberg, along with DreamWorks Television heads Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank. Graham Yost and Robert Rodat also serve as executive producers.
 

Silver Spring, Md.: Powered by strong returning series and breakout new hits, Discovery Channel had its best Second Quarter ever among Men 25-54.  DEADLIEST CATCH completed second quarter as cable's #1 show on Tuesdays and cable's #2 show across all nights among Persons 25-54 and Men 18-49.  AMERICAN CHOPPER, SONS OF GUNS, MYTHBUSTERS, DUAL SURVIVAL and SWAMP LOGGERS all finished in the Top 5 among key demos on their respective nights and pushed Discovery +6% in Men 18-49. 

In June alone, in all key demos, Monday nights have experienced double-digit growth +7% to +34% and Fridays have shot up +18% to +60%.  It has been the network's third best June ever among Men 25-54 and Men 18-49 delivery.

New breaking news specials MEGAQUAKE: HOUR THAT SHOOK JAPAN and KILLING BIN LADEN earned double-digit and triple-digit gains in key Persons and Male demos, versus respective 2Q10 time slot delivery.

In 2Q11, Discovery Prime ranked as the #5 ad-supported cable network for Persons and Men 25-54.  It also ranked in the top ten for Men 18-49 (#5), Persons 18-49 (#7) and Men 18-34 (#9). 

Discovery was a top-5 ad-supported cable network in key demos on Tuesdays in 2Q11: Persons and Men 25-54 (#2), Persons and Men 18-49 (#2), Women 25-54 (#3), Women 18-49 (#4), P2+ (#5) and HH (#5) delivery. 

Among Men 25-54 in delivery, Discovery Channel placed in the top ten every night of the week during second quarter: Sunday (#6), Monday (#5), Tuesday (#2), Wednesday (#7), Thursday (#7), Friday (#6) and Saturday (#8).

On tap for third quarter on Discovery Channel: Current season of DEADLIEST CATCH, the powerhouse SHARK WEEK, a new season of SONS OF GUNS, special event series CURIOSITY and RISING: REBUILDING GROUND ZERO, as well as the exciting new competition series ONE MAN ARMY.               
 

New York : MTV had a stellar night, with the "2011 MTV Movie Awards" delivering a 3.9 rating among P12-34, averaging 4.5 million viewers, and its largest audience among teens since 2004 – a 5.4 rating overall, and whopping 8.3 rating among female teens.  Part one of the two-part "Teen Wolf" series premiere, on a special night and time, delivered a 2.1 rating among P12-34, and scored huge with the teen audience, retaining 68% of its lead-in, with a 3.7 rating overall, and 5.6 with female teens, up a stellar 105% from last year's post show.  The special 90 minute season finale of "Randy Jackson Presents America's Best Dance Crew" ("ABDC"), which included live coverage from the "Movie Awards" red carpet, kicked off the night with a 2.1 rating among P12-34, up 38% from last year's Movie Award's lead-in. 

MTV's "2011 Movie Awards" kept its tradition as Hollywood's most atypical and irreverent awards show, with host Jason Sudeikis providing laugh-out-loud moments, a surprise appearance by Justin Bieber, a naughty-but-nice presentation by Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis, GENERATION AWARD winner Reese Witherspoon providing a message of female empowerment, and the stars of the night's big winner "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" – Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner – lip-locking as Pattinson went to accept his BEST KISS golden popcorn.

"Teen Wolf's" two-part premiere continues tonight, when the series debuts in its regular timeslot, Mondays at 10:00 p.m./9:00 p.m. CT.  In tonight's episode, as Scott (Tyler Posey) is now aware that he's become a werewolf, he is not only faced with the normal pressures of teen life-like trying to figure out how to play his first lacrosse game and get a second chance at a date with Allison (Crystal Reed) – but must also deal with the hunters trying to catch him and the other mysterious werewolf, Derek Hale (Tyler Hoechlin). 

The "Season of the Superstars" came to an end during the special 90-minute finale of "Randy Jackson Presents America's Best Dance Crew" ("ABDC"), as viewers watched IaMmE crowned America's best dance crew.  The season six finale averaged a 2.1 rating among P12-34, up +17% from the fifth season finale.  The finale delivered 2.6 million total viewers, up +24% from last season's finale.  For the season, "ABDC" averaged a 1.8 rating among P12-34, up +13% from the fifth season average.  "ABDC" delivered 2.1 million total viewers each week, up +17% from season five.  "ABDC" is Thursday's #1 original cable series with P12-34.

MTV.com delivered its biggest "Movie Awards" day all time, reaching more than 800K visitors to Movie Awards content, up +12% from the day of the 2010 MTV Movie Awards (6/6/10) and 1.6M streams, up +3% from last year.  In addition, "Movie Awards" drove MTV's mobile site to one of its highest days in history and dominated the social conversation between Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter, where throughout the night there were more than 26 Movie Awards related topics trending. As of this morning, there were still four MTV related topics trending.

New York : VH1 kicked off the summer this past Monday evening with two hot series' premieres that drove the network to its highest rated night since October 2009. Monday night's 8:00pm* third season premiere of "Basketball Wives" scored a 1.2 in the key P18-49 demo – up 36 percent from the series second season premiere – and attracted 1.8 million total viewers. When combined with its 11pm* encore episode, the series brought in 3.5 million total viewers to VH1 Monday night.

At 9:00pm*, the two-hour premiere of VH1's first hour-long scripted series "Single Ladies" also drew an impressive 1.2 rating in the key P18-49 demo and 1.8 million total viewers. When combined with its 12am* encore, "Single Ladies" drew in 2.8 million total viewers. VH1's new, hour-long scripted romantic comedy series "Single Ladies" follows Val, Keisha, and April – three best friends with different philosophies on sex and relationships, proving not all women have the same desires.

The series, which are geared towards young women viewers both scored 2.0 ratings with women 18-34. "Single Ladies" stars Val (Stacey Dash) as an ambitious, aspiring fashion mogul who believes in fate, romance and finding that special someone to be with forever. Keisha (LisaRaye McCoy) is a former video dancer who believes in making her own luck, her own money and choosing men with her head instead of her heart April (Charity Shea) has found the "perfect" man for the "ideal" marriage – but is learning that marriage might not be her happily ever after. The series introduces Christina (Kassandra Clementi) a free-spirited, wild child intern with an eye for fashion that Val takes under her wing. "Single Ladies" is a modern, sexy series set in the world of Atlanta fashion, music, and celebrity that will constantly explore which woman has the right approach to relationships.

Executive producers include Queen Latifah, Shakim Compere, and Shelby Stone for Flavor Unit Entertainment. Executive producers also include Maggie Malina, Alex A. Motlagh for POPfilms, Stacy A. Littlejohn, and Tamra Davis. Executive producing for VH1 are Jill Holmes and Jeff Olde. "Single Ladies" was written and created by Stacy A. Littlejohn and directed by Tamra Davis.

"Basketball Wives" season 3 begins with Shaunie O'Neal settling back into Miami working to balance a new shoe line, her love life, family outings and being a shoulder to lean on for the other ladies. Evelyn makes the transition from a basketball wife to a football wife with fiance Chad Ochocinco. The cameras will catch Jennifer leaving her "player" behind and navigating a new lifestyle as a single lady. Left hurt and betrayed, Tami works on rebuilding her trust for the ladies and moving on from the past. Viewers will see the return of Suzie, who will attempt to reconcile with the ladies who sent her packing last season. But will her friendship with Royce lead to an ultimate disaster and her final exile by the ladies? As the gorgeous women return to Miami, the basketball wives are joined by a new face, Meeka Claxton, married to Golden State Warriors star Speedy Claxton.

Shed Media produces "Basketball Wives." Executive producing for Shed Media are Nick Emmerson, Jennifer O'Connell, Alex Demyanenko and Sean Rankine. Tom Huffman is a consulting producer. Shaunie O'Neal and Phil Robinson are executive producers. Executive producing for VH1 are Jill Holmes, Noah Pollack and Jeff Olde.

The much anticipated DEADLIEST CATCH showdown between the Harris brothers and Captain Derrick Ray resulted in huge ratings for Discovery Channel on Tuesday, May 24.  The telecast, Thick as Thieves, earned a 2.43 HH / 2.18 P25-54 AA%, delivering 3.52 million viewers P2+. The series was the #1 primetime cable telecast among HH, P2+, P/M/W25-54 ratings and delivery (excluding the NBA playoffs on TNT) for the seventh week in a row.

DEADLIEST CATCH continues to out-deliver several broadcast programs for Tuesday 5/24/11 prime including:   ABC's Dancing with the Stars for M25-54, M18-49 ,  CBS' NCIS: Los Angeles for M25-54, P/M18-49 ,  CBS' NCIS for M25-54, M18-49 and  NBC's Biggest Loser for M25-54, M18-49.

Additionally, the 10PM ET/PT special telecast of DUAL SURVIVAL, Out of Africa, earned a 1.17 HH/ .86 P25-54 AA%, delivering 1.50 million viewers P2+.

Driven by the strong performances from both series,  Discovery was the #2 primetime cable network for P/M25-54 and P/M18-49 ratings and delivery (second only to TNT, hosting the NBA Playoffs).

The new season of DEADLIEST CATCH continues next Tuesday at 9PM ET/PT. DUAL SURVIVAL will continue the season this Friday, May 27 at its regular timeslot at 10PM ET/PT timeslot.

The Tuesday, May 3 9PM ET/PT episode of Discovery Channel's Deadliest Catch , Breaking Point earned a 2.21 HH / 2.03 P25-54 AA%, delivering 3.27 million viewers P2+. The series was the #1 primetime cable telecast among HH, P2+, P18+, P/M/W25-54 and P/M18-49 ratings and delivery (excluding the NBA playoffs on TNT) for the fourth week in a row.

Deadliest Catch  continues to out-deliver several broadcast programs for Tuesday 4/26/11 prime delivery, including:  ABC's Dancing with the Stars for M25-54, M18-49,  ABC's Body of Proof for M25-54, M18-49 , CBS' Good Wife for M18-49 , FOX's Raising Hope for M25-54, M18-49 ,  FOX's Traffic Light for P/M25-54, P/M18-49   and  NBC's Biggest Loser 11 for M18-49

Driven by the strong performance from Deadliest Catch ,  Discovery was the #2 primetime cable network for P/M25-54 and P/M18-49 ratings and delivery (second only to TNT, hosting the NBA Playoffs).

The new season of Deadliest Catch  continues next Tuesday at 9PM ET/PT on Discovery Channel.

TNT’s NBA Playoffs Coverage has Scored Big with Affluent Viewers, More Than +39% Growth for P18-34, P18-49 and P25-54; Tops Among Professional Sports Leagues.
 
TNT’s First Round action of the NBA Playoffs featured plenty of drama in delivering its most-watched and highest-rated postseason to date in cable television history. TNT’s 23 First Round games delivered an average of 2.7 U.S. HH Rating, (+29%, 2.1 U.S. HH Rating last year), 4,179,000 Total Viewers (+32%, 3,174,000 last year) and 3,091,000 Households (+27%, 2,430,000 last year). Last season TNT aired 23 First Round match-ups.
 
The NBA Playoffs on TNT to-date are also delivering significant double-digit growth with affluent viewers with a household income of $100,000+ or +$125,000 across P18-34, P18-49 and P25-54. The growth for both affluent categories is the most of any professional sports league, playoffs or regular season.
 
TNT’s postseason coverage follows its most-watched and highest-rated season in its 27 years of airing NBA basketball. During its 52-game regular season, the NBA on TNT averaged a 1.6 U.S. household rating (+45% vs. 1.1 for last year’s corresponding coverage); 2,453,000 total viewers (+42% vs. 1,723,000); and 1,826,000 households (+39% vs. 1,315,000). In addition, this season’s audience is +30% larger than Turner’s second-best regular-season audience from 1995-96 (1,885,000).  Also, TNT aired three of the top five all-time most-watched NBA regular season games in cable television history this season.
 
TNT’s coverage of the NBA Playoffs continues on Monday, May 2 with the Atlanta Hawks @ Chicago Bulls at 8 p.m. (ET) followed by the Dallas Mavericks @ Los Angeles Lakers at 10:30 p.m. (ET)Memphis Grizzlies @ Oklahoma City Thunder at 9:30 p.m. (ET). TNT will also air home-market exclusive Conference Semi-Finals coverage and the 2011 NBA Eastern Conference Finals exclusively. .  On Tues., May 3, TNT will feature the Boston Celtics @ Miami Heat at 7 p.m. (ET) .

The BBC has  published its Live +7 audience data for March 2011. The new data reveals strong performances for programmes with an educational core with RTS double winner Professor Brian Cox and new face Guy Martin proving hugely popular with BBC audiences.

The new Live +7 information measures the total audience consuming content across all platforms, including live, recordings, narrative repeats, BBC iPlayer and HD for seven days after transmission. The system makes extensive use of BARB data and collates these ratings relating to a particular programme or episode alongside BBC iPlayer stats.

Highlights from the latest set of Live +7 figures for March show the following programmes increased their audience as follows:

The Boat That Guy Built (BBC One 09.03.11) up 92% to 7.7m
Wonders Of The Universe (BBC Two 06.03.11) up 77% to 6.4m
Junior Doctors (BBC Three 29.03.11) up 235% to 3.6m
Mrs Brown's Boys (BBC One 28.03.11) up 62% to 4.6m
Agony & Ecstasy: A Year With The National Ballet (BBC Four 22.03.11) up 172% to 1m

David Bunker, Head of Audience Research, BBC Vision said "Whether it is learning about industrial age Britain in BBC One's The Boat That Guy Built or life on the wards on BBC Three's Junior Doctors, this month, audiences seem to be finding the informative popular and the popular informative."