via Bravo press release (note that despite the headlines, this significantly underperformed the regular Top Chef series):
BRAVO'S "Top Chef MASTERS" HIGHEST RATED WEDNESDAY 10 PM SERIES PREMIERE IN NETWORK HISTORY
BRAVO'S "Top Chef MASTERS" HIGHEST RATED WEDNESDAY 10 PM SERIES PREMIERE IN NETWORK HISTORY
BravoTV.Com Boasts Highest Page Views For A Series Premiere
NEW YORK - June 11, 2009 - The series premiere of Bravo's "Top Chef Masters," kicked up the heat garnering the highest rated Wednesday series premiere ever for the network in all key demos in the 10 p.m. time period, according to Nielsen Media Research. "Top Chef Masters" delivered 1.37 million total viewers and 907,000 adults 18-49.
Versus the time period premiere of "Top Chef" classic season one (3/15/06 at 11 p.m.), "Top Chef Masters" was up 91 percent among adults 18-49 (907, 000 vs. 476,000) and up 96 percent among total viewers (1.37 million vs. 701,000). The series' 11 p.m. encore attracted an additional 636,000 total viewers and 434,000 adults 18-49.
Online, BravoTV.com boasted its highest page views for a series premiere in nearly three years with 276,000 hits in its premiere day. Month-to-date, "Top Chef Masters'" unique visitors have generated over one million page views.
"Top Chef Masters" is produced by the Emmy-nominated Magical Elves. Dan Cutforth, Jane Lipsitz and Shauna Minoprio serve as executive producers. "Top Chef" head judge, renowned culinary figure and chef/owner Craft Restaurants Tom Colicchio serves as consulting producer.
Source: Nielsen Media Research, Live + Same Day through 6/10/09. Omniture SiteCatalyst.
Bravo is a program service of NBC Universal Cable Entertainment, a division of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. Bravo has been an NBC Universal cable network since December 2002 and was the first television service dedicated to film and the performing arts when it launched in December 1980. For more information, visit www.BravoTV.com.
Wow Cable seems to be doing fantastic this summer.
yeah, I agree with the first poster. Every day some cable show is breaking records.
I don’t think the ratings will hold up for Top Chef Masters. I’m a bit disenchanted with “celebrity” versions of unscripted concepts. The stakes don’t seem that high here with all of the contestants having much too good a time. Yeah you can win $100k for your charity – so what?
With that said – Bravo and the Top Chef crew certainly know how to make the actual competition entertaining. The Bravo brand only gets better with this sort of show instead of the drek that NBC is trying with I’m a Celebrity…
well, with only 1 million viewers is a record (see: nurse jackie)
@AZTop: This is different than many celebrity versions of reality shows. Unless you’re in the culinary community, you probably don’t know many (or any) of the contestants. As a culinary school student, I’m really happy to see veteran, accomplished chefs creates dishes instead of “personalities” who happen be to good at cooking. I love regular Top Chef, but this is a nice change of pace that gives notoriety to chefs who’ve gotten famous before reality television and Food Network were ever created.