As TV types wait to see how last night’s third season premiere of "Mad Men" did in the ratings, E! has stepped in with some Nielsen news of its own.
The network just sent out a release noting that the premiere of "Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami" attracted nearly 2.7 million reality show junkies. That’s the best series premiere number for an original E! series since "The Anna Nicole Show" in 2002.
Among women 18-34 (E!’s target demo), "K&K" delivered a 3.73 rating, tying "Anna Nicole" as the network’s top premiere. Ever.
We’ll let you insert your own jokes about the end of civilization. Or figure out a way to make fun of "K&K" executive producer Ryan Seacrest, who apparently just launched another hit.
But as we all snicker and bemoan the Sad State of Television, here’s something worth pondering.
The 2.7 milion for "Kourtney and Khloe"? That’s just 800,000 viewers less than tune in big budget cable dramas such as "Saving Grace" and "Leverage." And E! produces its reality shows for probably about 1/10th the cost of what TNT spends.
E! uberchief Ted Harbert is no doubt smiling even more broadly than usual today. And no doubt wondering why he didn’t get out of the broadcast business even sooner.
