Sunny Nielsen Skies For Fx's 'The League,' 'Philadelphia'

'League's Second Outing Jumps 42% In Viewers, 55% with 18-49; 'Always Sunny' En Route To Best Season

Mike Reynolds -- Multichannel News, 11/9/2009 10:08:26 AM

FX's fantasy sports-centered comedy improved strongly with its second outing.
The second episode of The League averaged 1.41 million viewers on Nov. 5 at 10:30 p.m., a 42% improvement from the 994,000 who watched its Oct. 29, according to Nielsen data.
The gain was even stronger among the Madison Avenue-coveted set: there were 1.21 million adults 18 to 49, up 55% from 779,000 during its premiere, which faced Game 2 of the World Series.
Meanwhile, The League's lead-in is on pace for its best season ever during its fifth campaign. The Nov. 5 airing at 10 p.m. averaged 1.99 million watchers, the second-most since the 2.25 million for the season opener on Sept. 17, according to Nielsen data. Similarly, the episode was the show's best since the fifth-season starter, averaging 1.66 million, compared with 1.78 million.
Through the first eight episodes, Sunny's fifth season is on pace to break its viewership average - 1.77 million watchers, versus 1.32 million during the fourth season - and with the demo: 1.39 million this season, versus 967,000 during its third campaign.