USA Edges Disney in 2Q Primetime-Ratings Rac

The Starter Wife, WWE Fare Boost General-Entertainment Network

By Linda Moss

Multichannel News Online – 7/3/0

USA Network was tops in the primetime ratings in the second quarter, a hair ahead of Disney Channel.

USA, with a boost from The Starter Wife and wrestling, posted a 2.1 household rating, down 5% compared with a 2.2 for the same period last year, according to a Disney ABC Cable Networks analysis of Nielsen Media Research data released Tuesday.

Following close behind in second place was Disney with a 2.0, which slipped 5% from last year. The June 24 episode of Hannah Montana was the third-highest-rated program in all of basic cable in the second quarter.

TNT placed third in primetime household ratings with a 1.9, down 14% from last year’s 2.2. A contributing factor for TNT’s ratings decline was a drop-off for its National Basketball Association playoff coverage, which was down 12% compared with last year. Nonetheless, TNT’s June 2 NBA playoff game between the Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers was the second-highest-rated basic-cable program in the quarter.