Starz’s “Power” premiered over the weekend, drawing more than 2 million total viewers overall for the weekend.
Depending on how you slice it, the numbers for “Power” put it on a par with the debut of “Da Vinci’s Demons” on the premium network.
“Power,” which counts Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson as an executive producer, tells the story of James “Ghost” St. Patrick (Omari Hardwick), who seems to have it all: a beautiful wife, a gorgeous Manhattan penthouse, and the hottest, up-and-coming new nightclub in New York.
The earlier show drew 2.14 million total viewers over its premiere weekend airings, similar to “Power’s” tally. And “Power” drew 1.27 million total viewers over multiple airings on Saturday night, when it premiered — in line with the 1.3 million total viewers that “Da Vinci’s Demons” grabbed over multiple airings on its premiere night.
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The initial airing of “Power” at 9 p.m. Saturday night, however, posted 462,000 total viewers — far shy of the 1.04 million who tuned in for the premiere telecast of “Da Vinci’s Demons” (though, it’s worth noting, the “Demons” premiere was at Friday at 10 p.m.).
While Starz is a premium channel and not dependent on commercials, the premiere of “Power” scored well in the 18-49 demographic most important to advertisers, accounting for 52 percent of the show’s opening weekend audience. That was the largest audience concentration in the demo for a Starz original series since “Spartacus.”