Lifetime’s Army Wives Enlists Viewers
New Series Was Most-Watched Premiere in Network’s 23-Year History
By Mike Reynolds -- Multichannel News, 6/5/2007 10:38:00 AM
Lifetime Television’s new show, Army Wives, stormed the ratings hill Sunday night, becoming the most-watched series premiere in the 23-year history of the network.
Army Wives -- starring Kim Delaney and Catherine Bell in an ensemble drama about the struggles and friendships of a diverse group of women and one man living with their spouses and families on a live army base -- attracted 3.5 million viewers June 3, according to Nielsen Media Research data.
The debut topped the premieres of Missing, which starred Vivica A. Fox as an FBI agent and pulled in 3.3 million viewers in 2003; and The Division, which showcased Nancy McKeon and Bonnie Bedalia as San Francisco cops and garnered 3.2 million viewers in 2001.
The show’s delivery of persons 2+ and its 2.9 household rating were Lifetime’s best in the 10 p.m. time slot since Dec. 17, 2006, with telefilm The Road to Christmas.
On the demo front, Army Wives, according to network officials, ranked first in all of basic cable among women 25-54 in the time period; finished first among women 18-49 in the time period and was Lifetime’s best mark since January 2004; and became the distaff-aimed service’s best tally among women 18-34 since May 2002.
Elsewhere, officials said video streams of the installment on LifetimeTV.com -- the first time Lifetime ran an entire episode of a show online -- grew 94% from Sunday to Monday. Moreover, the Army Wives section on the Web site recorded the most traffic of any of the network’s fare since Lifetime Original Movie The Fantasia Barrino Story: Life Is Not a Fairy Tale in August.
Finally on Yahoo’s Buzz Index report, the search term Army Wives increased 444% from Sunday to Monday, trailing only Meet the Press and Entourage. It also ranked fifth in Google’s Hot Trends Sunday, according to Lifetime officials.
The strong opening was gratifying to Lifetime Networks Entertainment president Susanne Daniels.
“We’re elated by the performance. This is a well-written, well-acted show that so many people at the studio [ABC Studios], the production company [The Mark Gordon Co.] and Lifetime all worked so hard on,” Daniels said. “It’s a great pat on the back when the efforts are recognized by viewers and online.”
The premiere also set the bar higher for the July 15 debuts of Side Order of Life and State of Mind, which will join Army Wives on basic cable’s first ever night hosting three one-hour original dramas.
“We’re off to a good start and believe Side Order of Life and State of Mind are also strong shows,” Daniels said, adding that she hopes at least one out of three will emerge as a hit for the network. “That’s an average that will let me sleep well.”
Side Order centers on a young magazine photographer who re-evaluates her life and impending nuptials after receiving a “wake-up call from the universe,” while Mind examines the world of a brilliant psychiatrist whose personal problems rival those of her quirky patients.
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Thank you so much for providing a wonderful and sincere
program for us during such a restless time in all of
our lives. The reminder that there are precious wives,
mothers, dads, brothers and sisters, and friends that
are suffering and we as a nation must find a way to pull our lives together and continue to be strong for
all our men and women fighting the worst kind of enemy
in the history of time. Thank you for giving this story to us and I pray for all of us that God will see
an end to what has happened in our world today.
I don't enjoy any of the trash on TV today but I am
so proud of you for this step to lift our spirits this
4th of July. May God help us all.
Judy Pylant - 6/30/2007 11:20:00 PM EDT -
I sincerely hope that this series continues and that it becomes a part of TV available to us here in Sweden. I feel it is the first vehicle I have seen with in the British Canadian and / or American networks that have created a window into the lives and real hero's of a war rather it is one of ones choosing or if one has it thrust upon ones self. I believe that the potential is bound less with out needing to open the used hero axiom / format. Family tragedies abound that need to see the light of day and to not be repressed and one need not restrict ones self to the Iraqi war as which family does not have living members from the Vietnam war or even prior as America is a nation of wars the last 55 years or so. The members of the families from any war are the ones to suffer and the ones seldom recognized since W.W.II was the last time that families sacrifices were recognized in the USA at a national level.
I applaud your efforts and wish you and all the actors and company the very best.
James M
Nybro Sweden
James M - 6/19/2007 3:21:00 AM EDT
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