http://www.medialifemagazine.com/News20 ... rsday.htmlFinale fizzle-out for
ABC's 'Brat Camp'
After strong debut reality show sank each week
Ratings are supposed to rise for a finale, but for ABC?s ?Brat Camp,? a show that?s been falling all summer, that just didn?t happen.
Last night?s season and likely series ender earned just a 2.2 Nielsen overnight rating among viewers 18-49, a series low. It?s 29 percent lower than the 3.1 overnight rating the show had averaged previously.
When the series launched back on July 13, it posted a 3.8 rating among 18-49s and looked poised to be a surprise summer hit like fellow ABC show ?Dancing with the Stars.? But ratings fell every week after that, and the finale was down 42 percent.
When ?Brat Camp? premiered, it finished first in its 9 p.m. timeslot, but last night it finished behind Fox?s ?So You Think You Can Dance? and CBS?s ?Rock Star: INXS,? and barely edged a repeat of NBC?s ?Law & Order? for third place.
What seemed to be the problem? The concept may have worn thin after a few shows. Watching kids misbehave isn?t great television; it happens all the time at home.
Greater competition from Fox?s ?So You Think You Can Dance? also hurt the show after the latter launched in mid-July.
?Dance? led Fox to first place for the night in 18-49s with a 3.1 average rating and a 9 share. CBS was second at 2.4/7, NBC third at 2.1/6, ABC fourth at 1.7/5, UPN fifth at 1.0/3 and the WB sixth at 0.7/2.
At 8 p.m. Fox led with a 2.8 average for a ?Dance? pre-show (2.5) and the first half hour of a 90-minute episode (3.1). CBS was second that hour with a 1.9 average for repeats of the sitcoms ?Still Standing? (1.:cool: and ?Yes, Dear? (2.0) and NBC third with a 1.6 for ?Meet Mister Mom.?
Fox led again at 9 p.m. with a 3.4 average for the last hour of ?Dance,? followed by a 2.7 for CBS?s ?Rock Star: INXS.? ABC finished third that hour with its 2.2 for the ?Brat Camp? finale, just ahead of a 2.1 for NBC for a ?L&O? rerun.
NBC took the lead at 10 p.m. with a 2.7 average for another hour of ?L&O.? CBS was second with a 2.5 for a rerun of ?CSI: NY? and ABC third with a 1.6 for a ?Lost? repeat.
NBC and Fox tied for first for the night among households, each with a 5.2 average rating and a 9 share. CBS was third at 4.4/7, ABC fourth at 3.4/6, UPN fifth at 1.6/3 and the WB sixth at 1.2/2.
So maybe televised child abuse does not make for such great family entertainment after all! Let's hope there isn't another season.
