TBS Wins 2014 as Basic Cables #1 Entertainment Network with Adults 18-49 December 18, 2014TNT Claims Six of Basic Cables Top 15 Original Dramas for the Year
TBSs Demo Victory Marks Third Consecutive Year in the Winners Circle
TNTs The Last Ship and The Librarians Rank as Top 2 New Series and Join
Rizzoli & Isles, Major Crimes, Murder in the First and Falling Skies among Top 15 Original Dramas
TBS and TNT are on track to score major ratings victories for 2014, with TBS ranking as basic cables #1 entertainment network among adults 18-49 in primetime for the third consecutive year and TNT claiming six of basic cables Top 15 original dramas, more than any other network. TNT is also home to three of the years Top 10 new series on basic cable, with the blockbuster hits The Last Ship and The Librarians topping the charts among total viewers.
TNTs success among original dramas includes three returning hits - Rizzoli & Isles, Major Crimes and Falling Skies - plus three new shows - The Last Ship, The Librarians and Murder in the First. TBSs original series success includes Cougar Town and Ground Floor, which both landed spots among basic cables Top 10 scripted comedies among adults 18-49. And The Big Bang Theory on TBS remains the #1 off-net comedy for the fourth consecutive year.
Both networks saw significant increases in VOD and TV Everywhere viewing, pushing shows like TNTs The Last Ship, Rizzoli & Isles and The Librarians well past 13 million viewers per episode in multiplatform reach.
TNT
TNT hit new heights in 2014 with an expanded slate of original dramas. TNT claims six of basic cables Top 15 original dramas for the year-to-date with total viewers, more than any other network:
Rizzoli & Isles: 7.6 million viewers
The Last Ship: 6.9 million viewers
Major Crimes: 6.8 million viewers
The Librarians: 4.7 million viewers
Murder in the First: 4.7 million viewers
Falling Skies: 4.7 million viewers
In key demos, TNT claims five of basic cables Top 15 original dramas among adults 25-54:
The Last Ship: 2.7 million adults 25-54
Rizzoli & Isles: 2.6 million adults 25-54
Falling Skies: 2.1 million adults 25-54
Major Crimes: 2.0 million adults 25-54
The Librarians: 1.9 million adults 25-54
TNT also claims three of basic cables Top 15 original dramas with adults 18-49:
The Last Ship: 2.2 million adults 18-49
Rizzoli & Isles: 2.1 million adults 18-49
Falling Skies: 1.8 million adults 18-49
TNT expanded its reach with high-quality genre fare in 2014, with The Last Ship and The Librarians leading the pack as basic cables Top 2 new series for the year-to-date among total viewers. The Last Ship is also the #1 new series with adults 25-54, with The Librarians and Murder in the First among the Top 10.
Source: Nielsen Media Research
TNTs dramas have accumulated huge audiences through the networks various platforms, including live viewing, DVR playback, set-top VOD and digital on-demand. The combined audience numbers provide a more complete picture of the number of viewers coming to each show:
Rizzoli & Isles: 14.7 million viewers (Linear TV DVR set-top VOD digital on-demand)
The Last Ship: 14.5 million viewers
The Librarians: 13.6 million viewers
Major Crimes: 12.8 million viewers
Murder in the First: 9.3 million viewers
Falling Skies: 8.4 million viewers
Legends: 6.6 million viewers
Source: Nielsen P2 Reach (000), Live and Playback 7 blended with a 6 min qualifier;
Omniture SiteCatalyst and Bango for Mobile Apps full episode video starts;
Rentrak OnDemand Essentials for VOD full episode transactions
TNTs ability to stack programs in VOD helped increase the networks set-top VOD viewing, with average monthly transactions up 12% vs. 2013, for a total of 8.1 million. Viewing time is also up, with TNT set-top VOD drawing an average of 373 million minutes viewed per month ( 19% vs. 2013), and 49 minutes per transaction ( 4 minutes vs. 2013).
Source: Rentrak OnDemand Essentials, Jan. 2013 - Nov. 2014
TNTs authenticated TV Everywhere VOD and live simulcast viewing saw triple-digit increases in 2014, with an average of 1.5 million monthly video starts ( 171% vs. 2013).
Source: Omniture TVE Suite and Bango TVE authenticated viewing, Jan. 2013 - Nov. 2014
TBS
TBS is on track to rank as basic cable's #1 entertainment network with adults 18-49 in primetime for the third consecutive year.
TBS claims two of basic cable's Top 10 original scripted comedies among adults 18-49, with Cougar Town (1.3 million adults 18-49) and Ground Floor (1.1 million adults 18-49) making the list.
The Big Bang Theory on TBS continued its extraordinary reign, ranking as basic cables #1 off-net sitcom among total viewers and adults 18-49 for the fourth consecutive year.
Source: Nielsen Media Research
TBSs original series have scored solid returns through the networks various platforms, including live viewing, DVR playback, set-top VOD and digital on-demand. This year, Cougar Town reached an average of 3.4 million viewers per episode across multiple platforms, while Ground Floor is currently reaching an average of 3.4 million viewers.
Source: Nielsen P2 Reach (000), Live and Playback 7 blended with a 6-min qualifier;
Omniture SiteCatalyst and Bango for Mobile Apps full-episode video starts;
Rentrak OnDemand Essentials for VOD full-episode transactions
Viewers are spending significantly more time with TBS set-top VOD content in 2014, driving average monthly playtime up by 19% compared to 2013, with a total of 211 million minutes viewed. Time spent viewing is also growing, with per-transaction viewership increasing by nearly nine minutes to 38 minutes per stream.
Source: Rentrak OnDemand Essentials, Jan. 2013 - Nov. 2014
TBSs authenticated TV Everywhere VOD and live simulcast viewing are posting strong year-over-year increases, with average monthly video starts growing by 22%
