NBC’s revamped version of the old 1989 classic “American Gladiators” premiered last Sunday night. The new version of the show, featuring Hulk Hogan and Leila Ali, scored a very bold 5.9 rating for its 2-hour debut. Network execs are said to be very pleased with the way the show was presented, as they felt it lived up to the hype and millions upon millions of dollars spent marketing the show.
To breakdown the ratings, apparently this is the highest rated premiere for NBC since the 2006 premiere of Heroes (now a run-away success). The show was most popular with the 18-49 crowd among young men. It’s no secret that in the world of marketing, the 18-49 year old target demographic is one of the toughest markets to appeal to and get a response from. NBC obviously did a fantastic job of ad placement.
Although it is still extremely early in the season, there has been a little whisper behind the scenes of wanting to retain Hulk Hogan for another series of either American Gladiators or a brand new concept. The reason for the indecisiveness on the execs part is likely due to them being torn between seeing the return of a nostalgic show or Hulk Hogan as the reason for the success so far.
American Gladiators will debut in its normal timeslot at 8 PM tonight on NBC.
 |
 |
 |
||
 |
 |
 |