Bethenny Frankel isn’t just bringing more drama back to “The Real Housewives of New York City” — she’s also apparently bringing bigger ratings.
The April 7 season premiere of “RHONY,” which saw Frankel return to the Bravo reality series after leaving to pursue other ventures, enjoyed a sizable ratings boost over last season’s debut, and helped push the network to its best Tuesday of the year.
The “Real Housewives of New York City” season premiere drew 2.2 million total viewers, a 22 percent jump over the previous season premiere last March, according to Live 3 Day numbers.
In the 18-49 demographic most important to advertisers, the “Real Housewives of New York City” season premiere drew 1.2 million total viewers — also a 22 percent climb.
The second part of the Season 5 reunion of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” which aired prior to the “RHONY” season premiere, also saw ratings improvements, though they were more modest. The reunion episode drew 2.9 million total viewers, a 10 percent improvement over part two of the Season 4 reunion last March. Among the 18-49 crowd, the episode grew six percent over its Season 4 counterpart with 1.7 million viewers in the demo.
