TBS Superstation's Atomic Twister spun its way to the top of the
household-ratings heap last week, but it didn't have enough momentum to carry
TBS to a weekly basic-network ratings win.
TBS' 1.9 household rating for the week of June 3 through 9 finished in a
second-place tie with Turner Network Television and Nickelodeon, behind
Lifetime's 2.1 mark, according to a Turner Entertainment Research analysis of
Nielsen Media Research data.
Cartoon Network (1.8); ESPN and MTV: Music Television (tied at 1.5); USA
Network (1.4); and A&E Network and FX (tied at 1.2) rounded out the top
10.
Atomic Twister's 5.9 rating is the highest rating for a basic-cable movie
this year, besting the 5.1 generated by Lifetime's Jan. 21 airing of original
movie drama Video Voyeur.
TBS' movie -- about several mega-twisters that threaten to cause a
nuclear-power-plant meltdown -- also beat out the 5.6 household rating for MTV's
2002 MTV Movie Awards show, although the annual awards ceremony took the
top slot in both the adult 18-through-34 (3.7 million viewers) and 18-through-49
(4.8 million) categories for the week.
The special -- hosted by comedian Jack Black and actress Sarah Michelle
Gellar -- also helped MTV to finish first among all basic networks in those same
demographic categories.
On a total-day basis, Nickelodeon finished first with a 1.6 rating, followed
by Cartoon (1.3 rating) and Lifetime (1.2).
Attracting an average of 357,000 adult 18-through-34 viewers over a 24-hour
period, MTV outlasted TBS' 266,000 mark, but TBS on average captured more
18-through-49 viewers (562,000) during the week than its closest competitor,
Lifetime (538,000).
Lifetime was tops among basic networks in total-day numbers with adults 25
through 54, drawing an average of 583,000 viewers, followed by TBS
(571,000).
