Scorcher Of A Summer For TNT Dramas
The network is up 12% among 18-49s this summer with a strong slate of originals, including The Closer, Dallas and Rizzoli & Isles. It’s up 11% in 25-54s, to 1.26 million, and 13% in total viewers, to 2.81 million. It’s seen its biggest growth among adults 18-34, where it’s up 21%, to 460,000.
TNT’s revival of the CBS soap becomes the year’s biggest scripted cable bow, beating all the broadcast networks in its timeslot.
Twitter Inc. aired its first TV ads to promote its advertising potential on Sunday during a Nascar broadcast on Time Warner’s TNT. The ads, produced as part of a partnership between Twitter and Nascar, come as the six-year old micro-blogging service seeks to establish itself as a serious social media business.
Exclusives
The cancellation of CBS’s freshman drama Unforgettable was one of the closest calls this upfront season. Now the procedural is exploring a move to cable. Producers Sony Pictures TV and CBS TV Studios have had preliminary conversations with TNT and Lifetime about picking up the series.
TNT will run nine original series this summer, including its revival of Dallas, the biggest slate of original programming in the network’s history.
Ahead of its upfront presentation to Madison Avenue, the Turner-owned cable network announced a slate of seven dramas and four unscripted projects.
The NBA lockout delayed the opening of the playoffs by a few weeks, but that may be the only lingering effect of the five-month work stoppage. With the postseason beginning Saturday, the three NBA playoff carriers seem poised for very strong ratings after yet another record-setting season.
When it comes to shows in which TV viewers hang around the longest for the duration of a particular episode, Univision and CBS earn top scores. Rentrak’s “Stickiness” Index has Univsion shows La fuerza del destino and Una familia con suerte grabbing the top two positions, scoring a 181 and 136 index, respectively. CBS, however, has 13 of the top 20, led by NCIS (133).
When it comes to shows gaining the most from time-shifting, cable TV series programs see the biggest hikes — with the top shows gaining almost the same number of live viewers. Most engaging? Some lower-rated shows score well in this area.
With Larry Hagman reprising his role as the conniving Texas oilman, filming is underway at locations all over the city for TNT’s new series Dallas, which will also see the return of Patrick Duffy as J.R.’s brother Bobby and Linda Gray as J.R.’s ex-wife Sue Ellen, along with a new generation of Ewings.
ESPN/ABC Sports and TNT stand to lose as much as $1.25 billion in ad sales revenue if the labor dispute negates the entire 2011-12 NBA campaign. Indeed, the NBA audience has become so valuable that the postseason inventory alone accounts for nearly a fifth of the full-season take.
