Tv Ratings, Cable | featured news

History Channel's "The Bible" premiere delivered divine Nielsen ratings Sunday night, thumping all of the major broadcast shows. The miniseries' two-hour cable network premiere was seen by 13.1 million viewers and scored a 3.3 rating among adults 18-49. That's more viewers and a higher demo rating than any show on the major broadcast networks last night and ranks as cable's most-watched entertainment telecast this year. If you include the show's repeat, the viewership rises to 14.8 million for the night.

Beyoncé Knowles’ autobiographical documentary that premiered last Saturday was the largest audience for an HBO doc since Nielsen amended its method of measuring ratings in 2004, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Some television executives have blamed use of digital video recorders as a reason for sharp declines in "live" viewing of most major broadcast networks this fall. But data capturing a full week of delayed viewing through DVRs reveals nearly identical audience declines. The data are likely to underscore concerns about traditional television viewing, suggesting that people are either watching broadcast television shows through on-demand services, or are turning to alternatives such as online video.

Looking to plug its sinking ratings, CNN has hired documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock to host and produce a new weekend series. “Inside Man” will give viewers an “insider’s view” into American subcultures: marijuana growers, end-of-life caregivers, migrant farmworkers, etc.

Amidst record low ratings, Time Warner-owned CNN reportedly has major changes coming its way. Time Warner chief Jeff Bewkes recently told reporters that he was "not happy with CNN's ratings performance and...focused on fixing it."

CNN Worldwide President Jim Walton said on Friday that he was leaving the once-dominant cable news network, which has struggled in the ratings in recent years, on December 31.

Anger Management ranked as cable’s most-watched primetime scripted comedy series premiere in total viewers and 18-49, eclipsing Tyler Perry’s House Of Payne on TBS, which opened with a 5.2 million. Like House Of Payne, which grew to 5.8 million for the second episode of its two-episode premiere, Anger Management gained too, averaging 5.74 million total viewers and 2.89 million adults 18-49s for its 9:30 PM episode.

The premiere of "Dallas" — TNT's reboot of the classic series — averaged 6.8 million viewers on Wednesday, making it the No. 1 scripted series premiere on all of cable so far this year.

The Miami Heat's win over the Boston Celtics to reach the NBA finals has drawn the highest preliminary television rating for an NBA playoff game on cable since records started being kept in 2003.

Sunday’s second-season finale of HBO’s “Game of Thrones” clocked 4.2 million viewers at 9 p.m.  – 1.2 million ahead of the first-season finale crowd of 3 mil. At 4.2 million, the “GoT” episode’s 9 p.m. telecast was on par in the hour with ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition” (4.3 million), CBS’s “The Good Wife” rerun (4.6 million), and ahead of Fox’s repeats of “Family Guy” and “American Dad” (3.6 million), while running behind NBC’s “Miss USA Pageant (5.8 million).