USA’s Summer Threepeat

By R.Thomas Umstead -- Multichannel News, 9/6/2010 12:01:00 AM

Having all but locked up the summer basic cable ratings race, USA Network is looking to keep its momentum going into the fall with the return of several top hits.

The “Characters Welcome” network is averaging 3.4 million viewers from May 31 to Aug. 22, according to a Turner Broadcasting System analysis of Nielsen data, besting Disney’s 2.8 million viewer pace for the summer. It’s the third straight summer win for USA, led by its lineup of scripted drama/comedy series White Collar, Psych, Royal Pains, Burn Notice and new freshman series Covert Affairs.

“We just feel lucky and fortunate to have had an amazing streak to some degree,” said USA Network president Bonnie Hammer. “We’ve built a brand from the ground up, and as long as we stay on brand and develop shows that we believe our audience really wants to see, we’ll be OK.”

USA Network won the summer ratings race, though its viewership did slip 5% from summer 2009, when it drew a cable-record 3.6 million viewers. Hammer pointed to the lack of a strong summer off -net acquisition — House and NCIS aired on USA together during the summer for the first time in 2009 — for the network’s ratings falloff . USA’s decision to move its top shows into more competitive timeslots also played a role. New seasons of White Collar and Psych moved into very competitive situations on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, respectively, from their lesscontested previous berths on Friday nights, said the network.

Also, the network abandoned the Sunday-night beachhead it established last summer with In Plain Sight and Law & Order: Criminal Intent and instead launched Covert Affairs on Tuesdays, against FX veteran Rescue Me and TNT’s new detective series Memphis Beat.

The shows held their own despite the increased competition: The CIA-based drama Covert Affairs is averaging 5 million subscribers, the second most watched new scripted series of the summer behind TNT’s Rizzoli & Isles and ahead of time slot competitor, TNT’s Memphis Beat. Only Psych suffered a noticeable decline (3 million on Wednesdays compared to 3.5 million viewers during its last season, which aired on Fridays.) On the flip side, White Collar and Covert Affairs boosted their Tuesday timeslots 106% and 164% specifically compared to the same period last year, according to Nielsen.

“We’re not worried — we’re really convinced our strategy was right,” said Hammer of the losses. “We left the safety zone of Friday and Sunday nights, bit the bullet and went Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night, which going toe-to-toe with broadcast and cable networks like Turner in a very different way. Some of our risktaking is for long-term thinking and long-term growth.”

USA will continue to take risks this fall . In November, the network will air new episodes of Psych on Wednesdays and Burn Notice on Thursdays, Hammer said.

In January, USA will debut its newest drama series, Facing Kate, starring Sarah Shahi (The L Word) as Kate Reed, a frustrated litigator who elects to become a mediator. White Collar and Royal Pains will also return during first-quarter 2011. “We’re going to have a strong fourth quarter and a very healthy 2011,” she said.