Wednesday

'Raising the Bar' and Clearing It in the Ratings



WaPo sings a different tune today...


Steven Bochco set a new record Monday when his premiering TNT lawyer drama, "Raising the Bar," clocked 7.7 million viewers. It was the biggest audience ever for a new-series launch on an ad-supported cable network.

Bochco's show, co-starring Mark-Paul Gosselaar and his hair, beat the record set in 2004 by USA's launch of "The 4400." That show opened with an average of 7.4 million tuned in; runner-up was TNT's "The Closer," which clocked 7 million viewers when it was unveiled in '05.

Bochco also got to thumb his nose at broadcasters: "Bar" trounced everything served up Monday across prime time by ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox or CW -- except NBC's "Deal or No Deal," and the network had to give away a million bucks to get 11 million viewers to watch that episode.

Among the shows attracting far smaller crowds than "Bar" was the highly hyped return of Fox's "Prison Break," which logged an average 6.5 million viewers. Also, the hysterically hyped second-season debut of CW's "Gossip Girl," which paled in comparison when 3.4 million tuned in.

2 comments:

1111 said...

Grats on your numbers. Is there anywhere I can catch the first show besides waiting for reruns?

Anonymous said...

Dear Mr. Feige,
Congratulations on both an excellent program RAISING THE BAR, and on your book INDEFENSIBLE, which I purchased last week. I am hooked on the program, and your book was almost impossible to put down after I started it.

I am delighted to hear that RTB has been picked up for a second season. It is a badly-needed wake-up call to the public that our "criminal justice" system is often anything BUT fair, especially when those with no funds for effective defense are accused of crimes.