MTV: Music Television reality series The Osbournes was basic cable's
top-rated programming last week in households and three key adult-demographic
measurements.
The April 9 installment of the show about the trials and travails of the
former Black Sabbath frontman's dysfunctional family posted a 5.2 household
average, according to a Turner Entertainment Research analysis of Nielsen Media
Research data.
Ozzy and brood topped TNN's coverage of World Wrestling Federation
Entertainment Inc. fare (a 5.0 April 8) and Lifetime Television's original
movie, We Were the Mulvaneys (a 4.7 April 8).
The Osbournes also scored highest among all basic-cable shows among
adults 18 through 34 (3.99 million), 18 through 49 (5.08 million) and 25 through
54 (3.49 million).
Whether there will be a second season of The Osbournes is debatable at
this point.
An MTV spokesman said the network is currently in negotiations to renew the
series. However, there appear to be hang-ups over whether the teen-age children
want the cameras to be in the home for another season of tapings, where the show
would be filmed (the family's farm house in England, versus their Beverly Hills
home) and a significant increase in compensation.
