Source: TNAStars.com
The final cable rating and viewership estimates for last night’s episode of iMPACT Wrestling on Spike TV are now available and it looks like the show was hit pretty hard by the return of the Jersey Shore on MTV. The show suffered a decrease in both viewership estimates its final cable rating as compared to last week. This week’s episode of the show scored a final cable rating of 1.14 which represented about 1,436,000 viewers over the course of the show’s two hours.
This week’s final rating is 0.06 of a point lower and approximately 178,000 less viewers than last week’s episode, which scored a final cable rating of 1.20 with an average audience of 1,614,000 viewers.
When we know more about the ratings breakout by hour, we’ll report it in this spot – so check back on Monday! Last night’s episode of iMPACT Wrestling on Spike TV had more viewers than prime time and late night programming on other cable channels like FX, TLC, Comedy Central, Cartoon Network, Discovery, A&E Network, HGTV, TBS, ESPN, Tru TV, AMC, the Food Network, USA Network, E!, and History. Pretty impressive considering that this week’s viewership was less than last week’s viewership. For comparison’s sake, while this week’s episode of iMPACT Wrestling had approximately 1,436,000 viewers, the premiere of Jersey Shore on MTV had approximately 8,788,000 viewers.
It is also worth noting that the show’s total viewership is hard to estimate. This is because DVR+3 figures (the amount of people who watch the show on their DVR within three days of recording it) usually adds about 200,000 more viewers in addition to the viewership number reported above. Plus, Spike.com uploads each full episode of iMPACT Wrestling to its website for free online streaming for a three month period. The online streaming versions of the show typically generate about 20,000 views before they are taken down (some episodes have many more viewers, others have less). However, there is no way to know whether or not DVR or online viewers are part of the original viewership estimate, so these figures are rarely reported by wrestling websites (but they’re still good to know!).
If you’re interested in iMPACT Wrestling’s ratings performance for 2010 and 2011, then check out TNAStars.com’s Ratings War area. In the Ratings War area you can see a comparison of iMPACT Wrestling vs. Monday Night RAW from the spring of 2010 and iMPACT Wrestling vs. Superstars from all of 2010 and the first part of 2011. Also, you can see a comparison of iMPACT Wrestling’s viewership numbers from week-to-week in 2011. Enjoy!
Here’s a positive spin on this one: if the viewership was hit so hard by the return of Jersey Shore, then at least TNA knows that the Robbie E. and Cookie characters are probably a good idea. I mean, clearly there’s a shared audience there. Not good when the shared audience picks up and leaves, but you know what I mean. On the other hand I guess most people watch Jersey Shore in general, so maybe it’s a moot point.
I’ve actually never seen a single episode, so my exposure to the show is backwards in that I knew Robbie E. and Cookie first. And I’m not a big fan of those characters (although I respect their talent), but hey, what do I know?
My apologies, of course, Joe, I realize you’re big on the Jersey guys. 🙂 And I’d be right there with you if we were talking about Jay Lethal. Or Bam Bam Bigelow!
You know what I find funny? How people can watch Jersey Shore over Impact Wrestling! You know what else I also find funny? How people love Zack Ryder, but ignore Robbie E because he’s in TNA (and is way more entertaining).
His over-the-top selling is hilarious!
No worries, Dylan! I’m a fan of Robbie E. I think he’s entertaining. On the flip side, as a guy who actually lives on the real Jersey Shore, I hate the MTV show. I’ve never watched an episode, but I’ve seen clips here and there. Those people aren’t even from the Jersey Shore – they’re from New York, Rhode Island, Connecticut, far Northeast New Jersey, etc. It’s ridiculous.
But hey – that’s life in the great Garden State!