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‘Star Wars’ A Ratings Force For Spike
Led By ‘Sith,’ Lucas Films Top TNT’s Weekend Presentation Of ‘Rings’
Trilogy
By Mike Reynolds
One force to rule them all.
When it came to head-to-head competition this past weekend, Spike TV’s
presentation of the first three installments of the Star Wars saga
toppled The Lord of the Rings trilogy on TNT.
Emperor Palpatine: Revenge of the SithSpikeTV’s basic-cable premiere
of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith Sunday night was the
highest-rated movie in the network’s history, averaging a 3.0
household rating and some 4.2 million viewers, according to Nielsen
Media Research data. That made the movie ad-sup****ted cable’s top
performer among films for the year among men 18 to 49 (1.49 million of
those watchers) and persons 18 to 49 (2.39 million), according to
Spike officials.
All told, the first three Star Wars features averaged 3.46 million
viewers, as Episode 1: The Phantom Menace and Episode II: Attack of
the Clones garnered a 2.0 household rating and 2.8 million viewers and
a 2.4 and 3.3 million watchers, respectively, on April 4 and April 5,
respectively.
For its part, TNT rang up an average of just under 2.7 million viewers
for Peter Jackson's interpretation of the Rings trilogy over the
weekend, as Fellow****p of the Ring fit 1.9 million viewers, The Two
Towers captured 1.98 million and Return of the King reigned over 4
million on April 4 through 6, according to Nielsen data.
Return of the KingIt should be pointed out that Phantom Menace and
Attack of the Clones were making their debuts on Spike, which
sup****ted its presentation of the Star Wars franchise with a
multimillion dollar, multiplatform promotional campaign, as well as
interstitials from Lucas Films, while the movies adapted from J.R.R.
Tolkein classic trilogy have appeared on TNT a number of times.
All told, Spike TV said it finished first in cable among total
viewers, men18 to 34 (485,000), men 18 to 49 (1.13 million) and
persons 18 to 49 (1.79 million) in primetime April 4-6 with the Star
Wars telecasts. The network only trailed CBS's coverage of NCAA
Division 1 men's basketball Final Four in all of television during the
weekend in drawing males18 to 49 and18 to 34.
This upcoming weekend, Spike will present the original Star Wars
theatricals, Episode IV: A New Hope, Episode V: The Empire Strikes
Back and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, marking the first time the
six features have been housed on a basic-cable network. Previously,
HBO had lined up the films in the pay window.
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