http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...ble_nielsens_1
Rankings for Basic Cable Networks
Thu Dec 18, 2:48 PM ET
By The Associated Press
Rankings for the top 15 programs on basic cable networks as compiled by Nielsen Media Research for the week of Dec. 8-14. Each ratings point represents 1,084,000 households. Day and start time (EST) are in parentheses.
1. NFL Football: N.Y. Giants vs. New Orleans (Sunday, 8:28 p.m.), ESPN, 4.5, 4.83 million homes.
2. "Special Report: Capture of Saddam" (Sunday, 12 noon), Fox News Channel, 3.5, 3.8 million homes.
3. "Late Edition With Wolf Blitzer" (Sunday, 12 noon), CNN, 3.5, 3.75 million homes.
4. "Special Report: U.S. Soldiers' Press Conference" (Sunday, 11:10 a.m.), Fox News Channel, 3.4, 3.7 million homes.
5. "CNN Sunday" (Sunday, 11:30 a.m.), CNN, 3.4, 3.65 million homes.
6. "Special Report: Capture of Saddam" (Sunday, 12:19 p.m.), Fox News Channel, 3.3, 3.62 million homes.
7. "WWE Raw Zone" (Monday, 10 p.m.), Spike, 3.3, 3.59 million homes.
8. "Special Report: Capture of Saddam" (Sunday, 11:31 a.m.), Fox News Channel, 3.3, 3.58 million homes.
9. "Special Report: Capture of Saddam" (Sunday, 11 a.m.), Fox News Channel, 3.3, 3.53 million homes.
10. "SpongeBob SquarePants (news - Y! TV)" (Saturday, 9:30 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.2, 3.41 million homes.
11. "CNN Sunday" (Sunday, 11 a.m.), CNN, 3.1, 3.37 million homes.
12. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Sunday, 9:30 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.1, 3.36 million homes.
13. "Fairly Odd Parents" (Sunday, 10 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.1, 3.3 million homes.
14. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Saturday, 9 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.9, 3.18 million homes.
15. Movie: "Battlestar, Part 2" (Tuesday, 9:02 p.m.), Sci Fi, 2.9, 3.15 million homes.
So what does this mean. First off since this does include the time period of the rebroadcast on the 14, the rebroadcast did not make the top 15, much less garner a 6.7 rating.
Second, the original airing of the first installment did not make the top 15, so yes, ratings did go up for the second installment, to a 2.9.
The ratings in previous articles which cited a 3.X number, were an average for the four hours of prime time, not specific to a certain show. Remember, on the first night T2 aired before the first installment, on the second night, the first installment reran before the original airing of the second installment.
So, the big question is then, would a 2.9 rating warrant going to series, considering how much they had to advertise to get this rating? Would they be able to sustain an audience without continuing to spend the kind of advertising dollars they did for the mini-series?