Gossip Girl scores strong ratings, plus VH1 gives Bret Michaels another Rock of Love; MTV renews Life of Ryan
The fall television season has officially begun, and networks are checking out the Nielson ratings for their new shows. Three shows have already been ordered for renewal: The CW's Gossip Girl, VH1's Rock of Love with Bret Michaels, and MTV's Life of Ryan.
The CW stands strong behind their new teen drama Gossip Girl , and it is the first show to be officially renewed by the network for a full season.
“People everywhere are talking about Gossip Girl and we believe this show will continue to build audience as it builds buzz,” says Dawn Ostroff, president of entertainment, The CW. “Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage have created an incredibly heightened-reality world that viewers are locking into while advertisers, affiliates and press have also embraced the show. The series has earned its early pick-up and we look forward to a long run on The CW.”
The September 26th premiere originally looked weak in the ratings department, but once DVR usage was factored in, the Nielsen ratings were much stronger. The new Nielson live-plus 7 day ratings system showed that the teen soap gained a significant number of viewers in the show’s target demos: a 21% increase with women 18-34 (3.37rtg v. 2.79rtg), 20% increase among adults 18-34 (2.34rtg v. 1.95rtg) and 11% increase in female teens (5.51rtg v. 4.97rtg) who recorded and watched the show up to 7 days after the premiere compared to those who only watched live during its scheduled Wednesday 9-10pm time period.
The show is also finding respectable online success in both general buzz and on platforms such as iTunes, where the two most recent episodes rank among the top 5 downloaded shows on the site.
In other renewal news, VH1 will give rocker Bret Michaels another chance to find love with a second season of Rock of Love, which will premiere in 2008. On last Sunday's reunion show, 3.9 million total viewers found out that Jes, his first season choice, decided she couldn't handle his rock n' roll lifestyle. Next season, twenty new ladies will compete for Bret's heart.
MTV has renewed Life of Ryan, the hit series featuring skateboarder Ryan Sheckler. Production on the new season starts this fall and new episodes will appear in early 2008. The season one finale will air October 15 at 10:30pm
