For the first time in close to 20 years, AMC offered an original series on the network. After the household numbers came in, they have to be pretty happy with the 1.4 household rating it received from its debut of Mad Men.
While some say it's low in comparison to other summer premieres at other channels, you really can't look at it that way from AMC's perspective, it would be different if they had been competing in the space year-after-year.
For the network itself, the 1.4 household rating was about double its usual .8 rating during the second quarter's primetime viewers, according to executives at the network.
The show is based upon the advertising industry as it was in the 1960s. AMC went all out with its promotion, becoming the largest marketing campaign they've ever done around a single show.
If this is able to hold and grow these numbers, it may be sooner than 20 years before we see another original series offered on the network.
Other data will be available for the show on Monday from Nielsen.
Good review - I think Mad Men is one of the most original shows to come along in years... Mad Men Debuts: Cigarette Companies and Nixon Coming
Posted by: Paul Levinson | July 22, 2007 9:12 AM | Permalink to Comment