Showtime's 'The Reagans' a Ratings Dud

NewsMax ^ | 12/4/03 | Limbacher

[Tumbleweed_Connection]

Despite the media uproar of "The Reagans," its premiere on Showtime didn't exactly set the cable world ablaze, according to Zap2it.com.

According to news reports, a little over 1 million viewers watched the three-hour movie, which did bring a larger-than-average audience to the pay-cable network Sunday, but not one big enough to rank in the Top 40 cable programs for last week.

Eschewing the Showtime offering, about 3.5 million people watched the season finale of HBO's "Carnivale" Sunday.

However, HBO is available in about three times as many homes as Showtime, which reaches between 12 million and 13 million subscribers.

Showtime has claimed that "The Reagans" was its highest-rated original movie in two years. Ironically, its ratings were close to that of another film about the Reagan White House, 2001's "The Day Reagan Was Shot."

"The Reagans" will repeat on Showtime twice in the next week and likely air in the future on the network's "multiplex" channels.

Showtime ended up with "The Reagans" after its Viacom sibling CBS opted not to air the movie for what CBS CEO Les Moonves termed "moral" reasons, saying the film didn't present a balanced view of former President Ronald Reagan.

CBS was also facing intense pressure from conservative groups to alter or scrap the film, however Moonves contends that wasn't a factor in his decision.

[Capitalist Eric]

Actually, considering all the "free" publicity it had, it wasn't just a dud, but a bomb.

Boo-hoo.

[steplock]

Showtime, which reaches between 12 million and 13 million subscribers....

1 million viewers ... well that is LESS the 10% of the total subscribers!

Definitely a BOMB!

Oh No - he said, "BOMB"! call the airport shoe smellers!!

[Paul Atreides]

That makes three Baby Ruths in Barbra's swimming pool!

[Paul Atreides]

Well, I guess it's back to selling oil changes for Mr. Streisand.

[Rodney King]

How much did they pay for it? Besides, that was dumb to put it up against Carnivale which is the best show I have ever seen in my life.

[potlatch]

I think it was originally a 4 hour movie, so did they take out that much 'libelous' content?

We dropped Showtime because of the black box thing in our town, or I might have watched it to see what they left in.

[Anthem]

But they'll rerun it rerun it rerun it rerun it rerun it in every undersold time slot that they can.

[Neil E. Wright]

ROFLMAO ..... Total viewers: approximately 1 million ... Showtime reaches between 12 and 13 million households ..... well, they reach ONE less now ..... I canceled my subscription to Showtime when they scheduled this POS hit piece ..... and when Dish Network asked why I wanted to cancel Showtime .... the operator got an earful .... LOL

±

"The Era of Osama lasted about an hour, from the time the first plane hit the tower to the moment the General Militia of Flight 93 reported for duty."
Toward FREEDOM

[Remember Ruby Ridge]

I cancelled my subscription to Showtime Sunday because of this movie and gave a FULL explanation for WHY I did so.

...Not that it will really matter:-(

[dangus]

Ya know, this emphasizes that CBS' decision to cancel was not a matter of keeping good taste or a sense of fairness, but a simple, very shrewd financial decision. 10% of the national audience during sweeps would be disasterous; now we're looking at 10% of the Showtime audience... an audience er, enriched with sodomites, Hollywood-worshipping fanatics, and left-wing wierdos. If run on CBS, this thing probably would have pulled about the ratings of UPN, or worse than running reruns of "60 Minutes 2" and "Yes Dear." They would have lost millions more chasing good money after bad.

[dfwgator]

First the ratings, then her lawsuit being thrown out. I'd say Babs is having a pretty bad week.