Apparently, The Real Housewives of Atlanta ended too soon.
The Real Housewives of Atlanta: Watch What Happens reunion special on Nov. 25, saw viewership easily outpace the series finale the week before and more than double the season’s average.
The special Tuesday night averaged a 2.55 household rating and 2.8 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research data, 27% above the 2.2 million who tuned in the series concluder and 115% more than its season average of 1.31 million watchers.
Included in the special’s total were some 2.06 million adults 18 to 49, a total, network officials said, marked the first time a Bravo docu-series surpassed the 2 million level.
Overall, The Real Housewives of Atlanta reunion was the No. 1 cable telecast for the day among adults 18 to 49 and adults 18 to 34. Bravo was the No. 1 cable network in the 9 p.m. hour among those demos and total viewers.
Additionally, the Atlanta show served as a solid lead-in to the fourth season premiere of Real Housewives of Orange County, which delivered a 1.74 household rating, 1.88 million viewers and 1.37 million adults 18 to 49. Those totals were tops for a Real Housewives franchise premiere, and was the second-highest Orange County episode ever – behind only the Jan. 22 season-three finale.
Gauged against the third-season Orange County premiere, the Nov. 22 show grew 63% among viewers from 1.15 million and advanced 51% over the 909,000 of the Madison Avenue-coveted set. All told, Bravo ranked first in cable during the 10 p.m. hour that night among adults 18 to 49 and adults 18 to 34.
— Multichannel News, 11/28/2008
