TNT Wins the Summer: #1 Network in Primetime with Six of the Top 10 Series August 26, 2014Rizzoli & Isles, Major Crimes and The Last Ship Top the Charts with Total Viewers; The Last Ship is #1 Scripted Series with Adults 25-54 and #1 New Series for the Year-to-Date
Combined Platform Deliveries Push The Last Ship to 14.4 Million Viewers, With 13.6 Million for Rizzoli & Isles, 12.6 Million for Major Crimes And 9.3 Million and Counting for Legends
TNT has won the summer ratings race. With one week left to go, TNT has cemented its place as the summers #1 basic cable network in primetime. Propelling the network into first place is its stellar slate of original dramas, with TNT claiming six of basic cables Top 10 original series of the summer, including the Top 3: Rizzoli & Isles, Major Crimes and The Last Ship. TNT also claimed four of basic cables Top 5 scripted series of the summer with adults 25-54, with The Last Ship in first place.
TNTs summer dramas have accumulated enormous audience deliveries through the networks various platforms, including live viewing, DVR playback, set-top VOD and digital on-demand. These more complete and accurate figures show The Last Ship blasting through with 14.4 million viewers, while Rizzoli & Isles is at 13.6 million viewers and Major Crimes has grown to 12.6 million viewers. Newcomer Legends is chalking up big numbers, as well, with its premiere episode rising to 9.3 million viewers and counting.
We are extremely proud of this victory, which reflects TNTs re-energized brand and demonstrates the power of TNTs originals series, said Michael Wright, president, head of programming for TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies (TCM). This summer, we ventured into new waters with quality genre fare like The Last Ship and Legends, while crowd-pleasing crime-dramas like Rizzoli & Isles and Major Crimes continued to pack em in with their best seasons yet. And the epic saga Falling Skies laid the foundation for what is certain to be a spectacular final season next year. This has truly be a summer to remember for TNT.
TNT has aired a total of 10 scripted dramas this summer, more than any other cable network in history. In addition to rolling out seven returning hits, the network launched three new dramas to great success, with The Last Ship topping the charts as basic cables most-watched new series for the year-to-date. TNT has also scored summer success on the unscripted front, as Cold Justice continues to deliver double-digit growth over its winter episodes.
Collectively, TNTs summer originals are bringing in significantly more viewers than last summer. For the summer-to-date, TNTs original series are averaging 5.6 million viewers in Live 7 delivery, a 23% increase over the same time last year. In key demos, this summers TNT originals are bringing in 13% more adults 25-54 and 9% more adults 18-49 than last summer.
Below are complete rundowns of the competitive success, multi-platform deliveries and summer finale stories for TNTs original series.
TNT Original Series Dominate the Charts
With Rizzoli & Isles, Major Crimes and The Last Ship leading the pack, TNT is home to six of basic cables Top 10 original series this summer, more than any other network.
#1 Rizzoli & Isles: 7.6 million viewers (Live 7 blended)
#2 Major Crimes: 7.1 million viewers
#3 The Last Ship: 6.4 million viewers
Murder in the First: 4.5 million viewers
Falling Skies: 4.4 million viewers
Perception: 4.2 million viewers
In key demos, TNTs new blockbuster The Last Ship and ongoing hit Rizzoli & Isles lead the pack in giving TNT four of basic cables Top 5 scripted series this summer with adults 25-54:
#1 The Last Ship: 2.5 million adults 25-54 (Live 7 blended)
#2 Rizzoli & Isles: 2.5 million adults 25-54
Major Crimes: 2.1 million adults 25-54
Falling Skies: 2.0 million adults 25-54
Among adults 18-49, TNT holds three of the Top 5 scripted series this summer:
The Last Ship: 2.1 million adults 18-49 (Live 7 blended)
Rizzoli & Isles: 2.0 million adults 18-49
Falling Skies: 1.7 million adults 18-49
TNT Series Score Big Audiences through On Demand and Digital
TNTs summer 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*:
The Last Ship: 14.4 million viewers (Linear TV DVR set-top VOD digital on-demand)
Rizzoli & Isles: 13.6 million viewers
Major Crimes: 12.6 million viewers
Murder in the First: 9.2 million viewers
Falling Skies: 8.8 million viewers
Perception: 7.9 million viewers
Cold Justice: 4.1 million viewers
TNTs recent additions to its summer slate have also achieved strong deliveries across the networks various platforms for their summer launches*:
Legends: 9.3 million and counting viewers for pilot episode
Dallas: 5.3 million viewers and counting for season 3.1 premiere
Franklin & Bash: 5.1 million viewers and counting for season 4 premiere
TNTs summer success has also driven growth among the networks digital properties and VOD offerings. TNT On Demand has grown 8% in VOD transactions compared to last summer, due in part to the networks strategy of making episodes of The Last Ship and Murder in the First available the day after premiere and keeping them available all the way through to the end of the season.
TNTs YouTube channel has grown by 6% in video views compared to last summer, while the Watch TNT app has delivered 25% more downloads.
* Source: Nielsen P2 reach for all TEN telecasts through 8/21 (for Legends, Dallas and Franklin & Bash: episode 1 only), 6-min qualifier, Live and DVR 7 blended, Rentrak VOD total transactions pulled on 8/20, Omniture and Bango digital on-demand starts through 8/20. Gross is a sum of these totals
