USA, ESPN split cable ratings crown

By Anthony Crupi

NEW YORK (Mediaweek) - USA Network won the overall cable ratings crown last week, averaging 3.2 million viewers in primetime, but ESPN maintained its lead among key demos.

The sports network also walked away with the week's most-watched program on cable, averaging 12.4 million viewers with the November 2 Saints-Falcons NFL matchup, but "Monday Night Football" took a hit from the World Series. Game 5 of the Yankees-Phillies tilt drew 17.1 million viewers to Fox, according to Nielsen ratings data.

Faced with what would prove to be the most-watched World Series Game 5 since 2003, the Saints-Falcons game drew the second lowest-rated "MNF" telecast of the year.

For the week ended November 8, ESPN retained its hold on adults 25-54 (1.46 million), viewers 18-49 (1.47 million) and viewers 18-34 (709,000).

USA was sustained by "WWE Raw," "Monk" and "NCIS" repeats. But it suffered a profound drop with its original drama, "White Collar," as its third episode drew 3.85 million viewers last Friday -- down 24% from the prior-week average (5.08 million) and down 29% from the premiere episode (5.4 million).