Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Sacha Baron Cohen’s ‘Who Is America?’ Debut Pratfalls In Ratings For Showtime
deadline.com ^ | July 17, 2018 8:06am | by Dominic Patten

Posted on 07/17/2018 9:55:56 AM PDT by Red Badger

Oscar Wilde once quipped that “there is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.”

Having generated a lot of chatter recently, Sacha Baron Cohen and Showtime may take The Importance of Being Earnest author’s words as some cold comfort today. They may have to. Because, for all the hoopla around the debut of Cohen’s Who Is America? series, the 10 PM satire offering attracted a pretty meager viewership on July 15, at least on the small screen.

Just 327,000 sets of eyeballs tuned in to the premium cabler on Sunday night to see the Borat star spoof Senator Bernie Sanders, gun activists, Trent Lott, supporters of Donald Trump and more. Among the key demographic of adults 18-49, Who Is America? pulled in a low 0.1 rating. That put the secretive and controversial Who Is America? in the hinterland of the 70th highest-rated original show on cable on July 15.

Which is clearly not a place you want to be if you are a marquee name for the CBS owned outlet.

In comparison and airing in the same 10 PM ET slot as Who Is America?, Fox Sports 1 had UFC Fight Night with a 0.3 rating and 754,000 viewers. Over on Home, House Hunters Renovation snagged a 0.3 in the key demo too. However, the politics free HHR also pulled in an audience of 1.4 million.

Of course, unlike those other shows Who Is America? wasn’t just limited to television.

Hoping to see some of the digital success that Starz’s Power has pioneered in recent years, Showtime launched Who Is America? online, on streaming and On Demand almost a full day before the show appeared on TV.

While no hard numbers are available for how that that July 15 12 AM premiere did, Showtime is claiming that Cohen’s multi-character show had over a million viewers on Sunday when you put all the platforms together.

In spin mode, the David Nevins-run outlet also says that Who Is America? fueled the most sign-ups this year for a series in a single day for Showtime’s streaming service. That also translates into the No. 3 best sign-up rate for a series debut since Showtime started its over-the-top service back in 2015.

Having said that, back to TV proper for a sec, Who Is America? certainly did provide its lead-out with a small bump on Sunday. The latest episode of the Stephen Colbert EP’d animated Trump-mocking series Our Cartoon President snared 186,000 viewers. That’s up from the 171,000 that Our Cartoon President had for its last original of April 8.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Music/Entertainment; Society; TV/Movies
KEYWORDS: borat; fail; flop; hollywood; miserablefailure; palin; sarahpalin; showtime
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-27 last
To: yesthatjallen

The resistance did want to watch it. But their parents control the remote.


21 posted on 07/17/2018 12:56:29 PM PDT by When do we get liberated? (A socialist is a communist who realizes he must suckle the breast of Capitalism.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: apocalypto

Amen!


22 posted on 07/17/2018 1:48:06 PM PDT by Vinnie
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

This is what these cable outlets are doing: They are hyping these leftist shows to scoop up the sore losers for their premium subscription dollars.

Showtime is under fierce competition from other streaming providers, including video games. They are playing a psychological game by stoking the depressions of those who feel they were robbed by an election. By stoking these depressions, they can create a hold on these unstable people raised on the indoctrination of the self esteem movement where everyone gets a trophy.


23 posted on 07/17/2018 1:53:33 PM PDT by jonrick46 (Cultural Marxism is the cult of the Left waiting for the Mothership.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: lee martell

I would love to see George Soros get punked. Has he ever let himself out to the public? I would have that pie in the face for him, if he did.


24 posted on 07/17/2018 1:56:25 PM PDT by jonrick46 (Cultural Marxism is the cult of the Left waiting for the Mothership.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]

To: KC_Lion

Who is America?

Sad Boy Cohen got his answer, just not the one he counted on.

#TruthMatters

Thank you, Sarah!


25 posted on 07/17/2018 2:55:46 PM PDT by Heart of Georgia
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: When do we get liberated?

The resistance did want to watch it. But their parents control the remote.


The real resistance consists of President Trump and his voters.

The fake resistance is all those who have been in power for 50 years and their supporters.


26 posted on 07/18/2018 5:31:40 AM PDT by marktwain (President Trump and his supporters are the Resistance. His opponents are the Reactionaries.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 21 | View Replies]

To: MeganC

God Bless Sarah Palin!!

God Bless Conservative Men and Women!

We could not do it without you guys.....

just saying!


27 posted on 07/18/2018 5:54:53 AM PDT by Uversabound (Might does not make right, but it does enforce the commonly recognized rights of each succeeding gen)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-27 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson