Thursday night’s premiere of Jersey Shore set viewing records, while only up ~500,000 viewers from its season one finale last January, it was up nearly 4 million viewers from its season one premiere. In other news, TMZ reports Snooki has been arrested for disorderly conduct. More controversy has always equaled more ratings for this show, can it keep up?
Update: in addition to setting a series-high with viewers, it also set a new ratings high with women 18-34 (4.8 rating) and tied its series-high adults 18-49 rating with a 2.6.
MTV’S “JERSEY SHORE” SEASON TWO PREMIERE #1 CABLE TELECAST OF 2010 WITH P12-34
Season Two Delivers 5.3 Million Total Viewers
Nearly 300% Increase Over Season One Premiere
The “Jersey Shore” Season Two premiere is the #1 cable telecast of 2010 (P12-34).
Season Two premiere broke series records with a 5.1 P12-34 rating and 5.3 million total viewers.
The telecast marked MTV’s best season premiere rating in more than seven years (since the Season Two launch of “The Osbournes” on 11/26/2002).
P12-34 rating for the Season Two premiere was up 292% over “Jersey Shore” Season One debut (12/3/2009), and up 96% over Season One average.
Total viewership of 5.3 million for the Season Two premiere increased 280% over the Season One debut (1.4 million viewers), and +96% versus the Season One average.
Source: Nielsen Media Company. 07/29/2010. Fast national ratings. Live+SD. Coverage ratings. Cable rank: 1/4/10-7/29/10. Based on 000s.
I’ll post the 18-49 and women 18-34 demographic numbers for last night later today. Here’s a look back at the season one ratings.
Jersey Shore Season One Ratings:
| Date | Viewers (Millions) | 18-49 Rating | Women 18-34 Rating |
| Thursday, December 03, 2009* | 1.38 | 0.8/2 | |
| Thursday, December 10, 2009 | 2.12 | 1.1/3 | 2.1/6 |
| Thursday, December 17, 2009 | 2.48 | 1.4/4 | 2.2/7 |
| Thursday, December 31, 2009 | 1.30 | 0.6/2 | 1.0/4 |
| Thursday, January 07, 2010 | 3.27 | 1.8/4 | 3.0/8 |
| Thursday, January 14, 2010 | 3.41 | 1.7/5 | 2.8/8 |
| Thursday, January 21, 2010 | 4.83 | 2.6/7 | 4.7/13 |
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*Two hour episode. All ratings Live+SD.
Considering allllllllll the HYPE (x100) between January and last night, it ONLY got 5.3 million viewers?
Strong number, no doubt, but even by summer cable standards…not really HUGE. And unlike last time, I don't think this show is going to grow week-after-week very much.
While those numbers are high, I expected more. The hype for this show has been like no other this summer.
Wow! I was only .2 million over with my prediction of what it would get in total viewers.
It's a great result for MTV and no doubt there is a third season in the works, it is essentially their successor to Laguna Beach and The Hills and no doubt they'll be a spin-off or two.
Actually the third season is filming as we type.
That's great. Don't watch the show, but isn't that more live viewers then what True Blood got this season for it's premier?
The Cast got 60k for that episode while MTV raked millions in AD revenue…Idiots…
they should of asked for way more..
Absolutely no doubt that Jersey Shore is the new face of MTV and there will almost certainly be some spin-offs created. I think that some network will eventually make a satire of Jersey Shore, created in the same smart cheeky vein as shows like Glee, Ugly Betty, and Desperate Housewives.
Now this is just sad!
Gawd we'll never get these idiots off TV
It will be even sadder if Jersey Shore gets a 2.9 rating or better. Then it would be the #1 program on all of TV among adults 18-49, for this past week of course.
With 5.3 million viewers, its definitely getting over a 3.0 in A18-49 and over a 5.0 in W18-34
MTV is already testing similar type shows with Korean and Russian casts.
so there is 5.3 million idiots that watch this crap? how sad
I never judge other peoples shows, especially when I've never watched, but this is sad. I enjoy some junk tv now and then but there has not been one promo for this show that has even peaked my interest. To each their own, I know.
Haha Wecome to the Vladivostok shore, comrade biotch!!
Obama should appear on this show… he could be snookie and be arrested for being the worst prez ever.
After all, Obama is “searching for a show Michele likes” and I bet all my money Michele likes this crap… sorry for the 2 posts.
Snookie gets arrested, how convenient !!!! From past experience I can't recall if the height measurement line at the booking sections of police stations I had the pleasure to visit, went as low as 4 foot, nine inches.
Well for me, as long as you know what is right from wrong, watching this type of show shouldn't be a big deal. It's for entertainment purposes and everyone has the right to watch whatever show they want. I admit it, I watched some scenes last season especially that when Snooki was punched in the face. That was funny though! But that's it. I don't think it's reasonable to judge people according to what they watch. I watched them fight with other people but that doesn't mean I'll do what they are doing.
All of you criticizing the show's viewers seem to think that they take the show seriously as quality entertainment. Most don't. The majority of Jersey Shore fans and followers know that it's a joke. It's more shameful that a bottom-of-the-barrel show like True Blood can amass a solid core of fans who think they're watching anything but softcore porn.
Even proportionately to the finale a 3 wouldn't have made sense. The latter prediction was more sensible.
But both were overestimations.
We are watching the death of scripted TV people.
At the same time you post this you post about One Life to Live and you actually feel qualified to comment upon the quality of TV today?
Crap (and quality for that matter) unscripted TV has been around for awhile and scripted TV is doing just fine with more and more networks available to air scripted fare. Don't you worry your soap opera addled little brain about it.
Didn't know there was qualification to where I can post things. I'll be sure to remember this when I post here a again. Never did I say anything about quality of TV, yet you bring it up as if I said Jersey Shore was a better quality show then any scripted show. I know that the show is garbage which is why I never watch it. So for you to come here and insult me because I watch soaps and made a comment you clearly didn't understand makes you very ignorant.
I would beg to differ. When you state/imply that with the existence of Jersey Shore “we are watching the death of scripted TV people” to use your bombastic terms, you are indeed making a statement about the quality of TV. You are saying scripted TV is somehow in jeopardy because of one more dumb reality show.
I merely pointed out two things: (1) Scripted TV is alive and well and healthier than ever with many more outlets today with all the cable channels providing outlets for successful scripted programming and (2) Since you decided to take a swipe at some of the mindless crap I freely admit I watch, I though I would bring up some of what is universally accepted to be the bottom of the barrel of the scripted TV world, the soap opera and near the bottom of the soap opera world lies the OLTL.
BTW, how could I “make a comment I clearly didn't understand”, if I made it?????