Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Money can be exchanged for goods, services, or higher ratings

Well, it looks like AMC's $25 million ad campaign for "Mad Men" season two actually worked. The season premiere drew an average of 1.9 million viewers, more than double the season one average of 950,000, and it nearly tripled the season one average in the 18-49 demo. That's still a pretty small number compared to basic cable hits like "The Closer" or timeslot rivals "In Plain Sight" and "Army Wives," let alone broadcast network stuff, but for AMC, it's not too shabby.

17 comments:

  1. I am sure I wasn't the only one who asked, but thanks for answering my question!

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  2. Last summer, Mad Men premiered to 1.6 million, a number which was halved by the season finale. I hope the show maintains its numbers better this year.

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  3. The DVD release probably helped as well. It let me catch up on a show I'd been hearing about but didn't watch last season in time for the new season.

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  4. Alan, are these just Nielsen numbers or do they also include the tivo, dvr, etc. folks, like me, who don't watch it at the exact time but within 24 hours of airing? I imagine that the tivo/dvr folks will only improve the numbers.

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  5. I know a lot of people that sat through the entire marathon last weekend and got addicted then. Plus the Emmy noms must have helped. Good work, AMC!

    On a totally different topic, Alan, you are my only hope....

    Homefront. There must be a reason why I cannot buy this on DVD, and you must know what it is! Please help!

    (Wait - slender thread of connection via John Slattery)

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  6. Jalehlabad,

    The DVR tally is for people who watch the show as much as seven days after initial airing. They don't keep track day by day for that stuff (or at least they don't release it daily).

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  7. I'm one of those 1.9 million! I watched the entire 1st season for the first time last week -- it helped that Cablevision had it for free On Demand. So, I'm a newbie, and glad for it. Great show.

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  8. Final national numbers bumped the premiere audience up to 2.1 million viewers -- and that still isn't taking DVR or On Demand viewership into account. (DVR numbers won't be available for a few weeks, if the system from last year is still in place, while On Demand data can take a long time to compile properly.)

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  9. The season premiere drew an average of 1.9 million viewers, more than double the season one average of 950,000

    I hate to be a dick (well, not really), but isn't 1.9 million exactly double 950,000?

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  10. I dont think theres a more overhyped show on tv

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  11. The bigger question is how many will come back for a 2nd week?

    I loved the premiere but it was a lot of set up. Not sure people who are tuning in for the first time will like the gloriously slow pace of the show.

    We shall see...

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  12. This is very offtopic. Are you gonna blog Skins? I think the first season was not bad, but you dont really seem to be a big fan of shows with teenager

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  13. HOMEFRONT! When oh when will that show be on DVD??

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  15. Is there a website that posts screencaps from Mad Men episodes? I'm intersted in viewing the retro artwork and props used on the sets. Tx. :-)

    I also liked that show "Homefront", it was over too soon.

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