The Last Ship Lands Cable's Biggest Series Launch for the Year-to-Date
Falling Skies Delivers 4.7 Million Viewers as TNT Claims
Five of Cable's Top 6 Scripted Season Premieres for the Year-to-Date
TNT continued its ratings hot streak last night with the premiere of the action-adventure series The Last Ship and the return of the epic alien-invasion drama Falling Skies. The Last Ship launched with a total of 7.4 million viewers in Live + Same Day delivery for its 9 p.m. premiere and 11 p.m. encore, while Falling Skies landed a total of 4.7 million viewers for its 10 p.m. season premiere and midnight encore. The Last Ship, which garnered 5.3 million viewers at 9 p.m., now ranks as cable's #1 series launch for the year-to-date. With 3.7 million viewers for its 10 p.m. premiere, Falling Skies has joined TNT's Rizzoli & Isles, The Last Ship, Major Crimes and Murder in the First in giving the network five of cable's Top 6 scripted season premieres for the year-to-date in Live + Same Day delivery.
"Just two weeks into its summer slate, TNT's Sunday night action-adventures and Monday and Tuesday night crime dramas are delivering on the promise of our newly energized brand," said Michael Wright, president, head of programming for TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies (TCM). "We couldn't be happier with last night's launch of The Last Ship and Falling Skies, which come to TNT from two of the industry's most successful storytellers: Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg."
In key demos, The Last Ship grabbed a total of 2.6 million adults 25-54 (1.7 million for the 9 p.m. premiere) and 2.3 million adults 18-49 (1.5 million at 9 p.m.). Falling Skies, meanwhile, garnered 2.0 million adults 25-54 (1.5 million for the 10 p.m. premiere) and 1.7 million adults 18-49 (1.3 million at 10 p.m.).
The Last Ship was also a strong performer on the social media front. Last night's premiere ranked among the Daily Top 5, according to Nielsen's Social Guide Twitter TV Ratings, with more than 1.1 million Twitter impressions and nearly 400,000 Twitter users.
TNT's weekend success comes as the network is firing up summer with its slate of hit dramas. Last Tuesday, Rizzoli & Isles kicked off its fifth season with a total of more than 7.5 million viewers in Live + Same Day delivery for its 9 p.m. premiere and 11 p.m. encore. The premiere has already grown to 8 million viewers in Live + 3 delivery. Rizzoli & Isles was followed by the season 3 premiere of Perception, which scored a total of more than 4 million viewers in Live + Same Day delivery for its 10 p.m. premiere and midnight encore. Its premiere has grown to 4.4 million viewers in Live + 3 delivery.*
In key demos, Rizzoli & Isles drew a total of 2.3 million adults 25-54 in Live + Same Day delivery (1.7 million for its 9 p.m. premiere) and 1.9 million adults 18-49 (1.3 million at 9 p.m.). Perception garnered a total of 1.4 million adults 25-54 in Live + Same Day delivery (1.0 million for its 10 p.m. premiere) and 1.2 million adults 18-49 (862,000 at 10 p.m.). In early time-shifted viewing, the premiere of Rizzoli & Isles has grown to 2.5 million adults 25-54 and 2.0 million adults 18-49 in Live + 3 delivery, while the premiere of Perception has risen to 1.5 million adults 25-54 and 1.3 million adults 18-49 in Live + 3.
Last week also saw TNT score strong numbers for its Monday night dramas, Major Crimes and Murder in the First, with the second episodes of both series showing growth over the same timeslots last year. Major Crimes brought in 6.1 million viewers in Live + 3 delivery for its Monday 9 p.m. telecast, a +13% increase over last summer's second episode. And Murder in the First grabbed 4.5 million viewers in Live + 3 delivery for the 10 p.m. episode, a +12% increase over the compatible timeslot last year. Both shows also grew their key demo deliveries compared to the same timeslots last year.
In addition to the shows that have premiered over the past two weeks, TNT's summer lineup includes the series launch of Legends and the season 4 premiere of Franklin & Bash on Wednesday, Aug. 13, as well as the return of Dallas on Monday, Aug. 18.
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