Source: MediaWeek.com
USA Network extended its stay as basic cable’s most-watched network by a week, beating out rival TNT with an average prime time audience of 2.52 million viewers and a 2.1 household rating for the week ending July 2.
The network held TNT at bay with its Monday night WWE Raw franchise, which drew 5.86 million viewers at 10:00 p.m., making it the third highest-rated program on basic cable last week. The 9:00 p.m. hour of Raw lured 4.45 million viewers, good enough for fifth place.
Boosted by another strong performance from its original drama series, The Closer, TNT averaged 2.42 million total viewers and a 2.0 household rating. The Closer finished fourth on the week, as 5.59 million viewers tuned in, a bit of a drop from the record 8.2 million that watched the second season premiere three weeks ago. TNT’s latest series launch, the EMT drama Saved, continued to hold most of The Closer’s lead-in, drawing 3.46 million viewers in its third week in the Monday 10:00 p.m. slot.
AMC rode into third place (1.98 million/1.6 HH) on the strength of part two of its original miniseries Broken Trail, which took in 9.77 million viewers Monday night (8:00 p.m. – 9:45 p.m.), retaining nearly all of the 9.8 million viewers who tuned in the previous night for part one. The premiere telecast of part two was the most-watched cable program of the week, and a command performance immediately thereafter drew another 3.7 million viewers, good enough for seventh place.
The World Cup quarterfinal between France and Brazil helped ESPN end the week in fourth place, as the sports net averaged 1.69 million total viewers in prime and earned a 1.4 household rating. ESPN eked out a slim margin of victory over BET (1.67 million /1.4 HH), which was adrenalized by its sixth annual BET Awards. The event averaged 6.67 million total viewers Tuesday night between 8:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m., tying last year’s BET Awards as the most-watched show in the network’s 26-year history.
Non-ad-supported Disney Channel was the nominal fourth-place finisher in prime, averaging 2.32 million total viewers and a 1.9 household rating.
