WE tv’s Friday night (May 31) launch of its summer of original programming delivered a combined gross average audience of more than two million total viewers, more than one million women 18-49 and nearly one million women 25-54 for its slate of original series throughout the night, including the 10th and final season of Bridezillas, series spin-off Marriage Boot Camp: Bridezillas, and new show Pregnant & Dating. In social media, WE tv’s three premieres all had trending topics on Twitter and all landed the coveted #1 spot for prime time reality shows, based on SocialGuide rankings.
The premiere of the category-creating Bridezillas grew nearly +50% in average delivery among W25-54 over the previous season nine premiere. Following a strong Thursday night performance of WE tv’s hit series Braxton Family Values, the network’s scheduling strategy of offering back-to-back nights of original premieres is off to a solid start and signals women’s desire for more quality original programming.
“We have significantly expanded the amount of original programming on WE tv this summer and are grateful to our viewers for getting us off to a great start, in both TV viewership and social media activity,” said Kim Martin, WE tv’s president and general manager. “This strong response to our first night of premieres, including the potential franchise Marriage Boot Camp: Bridezillas, reinforces our mission to create original programming that focuses on the ‘must-watch’ woman. She is highly entertaining, confident and living life on her own terms. She’s full of drama, friction and fun. In short, she’s someone our viewers can’t take their eyes off of, and that was on full display with the response to these new and returning shows.”
WE tv’s top highlights for the night include:
Ø Season 10 of Bridezillas (May 31 at 8 pm & 12 am) delivered a gross audience average of 310,000 W18-49, 280,000 W25-54 and 600,000 total viewers.
Ø New series Marriage Boot Camp: Bridezillas (May 31 at 9 pm & 11 pm) delivered a gross audience average of 474,000 W18-49, 446,000 W25-54 and 910,000 total viewers.
Ø New show Pregnant & Dating (May 31 at 10 pm & 1 am) delivered a gross audience average of 277,000 W18-49, 243,000 W25-54 and 507,000 total viewers.
Ø In addition to all three shows ranking as the #1 prime time reality show on SocialGuide during their premiere time period, they also ranked high on the Bluefin and Trendrr charts and each had trending topics on Twitter.
o On Bluefin, Marriage Boot Camp: Bridezillas ranked #1, Pregnant & Dating ranked #2 and Bridezillas ranked #4 for prime time cable, new reality episodes.
o On Trendrr, Marriage Boot Camp: Bridezillas ranked #2, Bridezillas ranked #7 and Pregnant & Dating ranked #10, during prime time for all cable.
During the current second quarter WE tv has already seen tremendous growth, up +24% among W18-49 and up + 22% among W25-54 year-over-year, and is pacing to deliver its highest rated second quarter ever among W25-54.
This summer, WE tv is debuting seven new and returning original series, starting with Friday night’s premieres and continuing with a new season of L.A. Hair on June 6 at 10 pm, following the finale of Braxton Family Values, and the new series House of Curves (June 13 at 10 pm), Sanya’s Glam & Gold (July 25 at 10 pm) and Obsessed with the Dress (August 2 at 9 pm).
Source: WE tv Analysis of Nielsen data, Live+SD. Bridezillas W25-54 (000s): S10 Prem 5/31/13 Friday at 8p. vs. S9 Prem 6/10/12 Sunday at 10p. Best Friday based on Prime 8p-11p (12/31/01-5/31/13). Gross average audience based on premieres and encores for 5/31/13 (Friday 8p-2a). 2nd Quarter 2013 comparison: 2nd quarter 2013 thru 5/30/13 M-Su 8p-11p vs. 2nd quarter 2012 thru 5/31/12 M-Su 8p-11p.
About WE tv
WE tv (www.wetv.com) is the women’s network that showcases and celebrates modern women who are bold, independent and taking control of their lives. Whether they are celebrities like Joan Rivers, Toni Braxton or Kendra Wilkinson-Baskett, or everyday women, their stories are as relatable as they are entertaining. WE tv’s popular slate of fresh and modern unscripted original series includes the hit shows Braxton Family Values, Joan & Melissa: Joan Knows Best? and Mary Mary, among others. Audiences connect to WE tv online, on demand and via social media. WE tv is owned and operated by AMC Networks Inc. and is available in over 82 million homes on every major cable, satellite and telco provider.
Source: WE tv press release, 6/3/13