"Dexter" dips in ratings, still bloody good

By Kimberly Nordyke

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Showtime's "Dexter" saw a slight drop in viewers after its record-setting second-season premiere, while "Brotherhood" notched a big jump Sunday night.

Elsewhere in cable ratings news, VH1's "Rock of Love With Bret Michaels" reunion special and Nickelodeon's "The Naked Brothers Band" one-hour movie drew almost 4 million viewers apiece, according to Nielsen Media Research.

The killer thriller "Dexter" averaged 889,000 viewers at 9 p.m. Sunday, off 12% from the previous week's second-season premiere (1 million), which set records as the most-watched season premiere of a Showtime series.

There was good news for the sophomore drama "Brotherhood," which likely was hurt last week by a seven-minute promo that aired after its "Dexter" lead-in. The drama averaged 517,000 viewers at 10 p.m., a 39% jump from last week's 371,000 viewers.

Meanwhile, the "Rock of Love" reunion -- during which it was revealed that Michaels' final choice, Jes, was not his love match -- averaged 3.9 million viewers at 8 p.m. Sunday. The season finale, which aired September 30, averaged 5.4 million total viewers. A second season, featuring 20 new women vying to be Michaels' significant other, will debut early next year.

After the "Rock of Love" special, the 9 p.m. premiere of "America's Most Smartest Model" averaged 1.6 million viewers.

At Nickelodeon, the "Naked Brothers" movie, titled "Battle of the Bands," averaged 3.8 million viewers, up 37% over the same time period a year ago. It also was the No. 1 program on TV for the week ending October 7 among kids 6-11 (2 million), tweens 9-14 (1.6 million) and kids 2-11 (2.4 million). It premiered at 8 p.m. Saturday.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter