'Hot in Cleveland' Sizzles For TV Land

TV Land's first original scripted series Hot In Cleveland sizzled in its debut last night, setting a network ratings record.
The series, which stars Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick and Betty White, averaged 4.75 million viewers during its 10 p.m. premiere according to Nielsen Fast National data. That easily beat out the previous network high -- a 2006 episode of The Andy Griffith Show that drew 2.85 million viewers, according to network officials.
Hot In Cleveland, which revolves around three Paris-bound friends who find themselves stranded in Cleveland due to plane problems, also posted a 1.9 rating and 2.0 million viewers among the network's target adult 25-54 audience. Among women 25-54, TV Land scored a record 1.3 million viewers, and among adults 18-49, TV Land posted a record 1.6 million viewers.
TVLand.com also experienced record-breaking traffic, attracting 287,000 unique visitors, making it the most-visited day in site history. There were 117,000 visitors alone to the "Hot in Cleveland" show pages, in addition to thousands of fans interacting with the show on Facebook, said the network.

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.