Last night’s 10-11 PM ET premiere of the new Bravo original series “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” has rewritten the cable network’s ratings record book, attracting a stellar 1.166 million viewers in the adult 25-54 category, 1.204 million viewers in the adult 18-49 category and 1.641 million total viewers. “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” also achieved a Bravo-record 1.61 household rating.
ADVERTISEMENT
The premiere of “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” improved the time period by a stratospheric 804 percent over Bravo’s 2002-03 season average in 25-54 viewers (129,000). It’s also a 657 percent increase over the slot average for the 2003 calendar year to date (154,000) and a 435 percent jump over the time-period average for the past eight weeks (218,000). Bravo was the #2 ad-supported cable network during this hour, behind only MTV’s “The Real World” and “The Osbournes.” Season-to-date, Bravo ranks #38 in the hour. A second hour of “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” ran on Bravo last night at 11 PM ET and scored Bravo’s second-best total ever among 25-54 viewers, 1.069 million, and best ever in the time period. That figure made Bravo #1 among all ad-supported cable networks for the hour. Season-to-date, Bravo ranks #36 in the hour. The 11 PM ET telecast attracted 1.366 million viewers overall, making it the #2 telecast in Bravo history by that measure behind only the 10 PM edition.
From 10 PM-2 AM, during the four premiere telecasts, Bravo grossed 3.057 million impressions among adults 25-54, a four-hour Bravo record. Bravo ranked #4 in that time period among ad-supported cable networks in 25-54 impressions, versus a season-to-date ranking of #37. From 8 p.m.-2 a.m., the Bravo ranking was #6, versus a #37 season-to-date ranking.
“It’s great when everything comes together -- a terrific show, great reviews and now fantastic ratings. This is an example of the new energy at Bravo and the first of what we hope will be lots of ratings records to come,” said Jeff Gaspin, President, Bravo.
Discuss this news story on our message boards
Bravo also set network records for 25-54 impressions at both 12 midnight ET with an encore presentation of the premiere episode and at 1 a.m. ET with an encore of the 11 p.m. program. The midnight episode averaged 422,000 viewers among adults 25-54, up 294 percent versus Bravo’s season-to-date average in the hour (107,000). The 1 a.m. telecast brought in 400,000 viewers in the 25-54 group, up 535 percent over Bravo’s season-to-date average in the time period (63,000).
Last night’s premiere episode earned a spectacular 2.67 household rating in the New York market, up 276 percent from Bravo’s 0.71 average in the time period over the last eight weeks. In Los Angeles, “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” was also up 276 percent with a 2.82 versus an eight-week average of 0.75. In San Francisco, the increase was 820 percent, 4.14 versus 0.45; in Dallas, the increase was 711 percent, 0.73 vs. 0.09; in Seattle, the jump was 1364 percent, 3.66 versus 0.25; in St. Louis, the gain was 403 percent, 1.91 vs. 0.39; and in Indianapolis, the increase was 409 percent, 2.90 vs. 0.57.
“Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” is Bravo’s new, unscripted lifestyle makeover series featuring cast members Ted Allen, Kyan Douglas, Thom Filicia, Carson Kressley and Jai Rodriguez, collectively known as the “The Fab Five,” a team of gay men, all experts in their respective fields of food & wine, grooming, interior design, fashion and culture. Their weekly mission: employ all the tools of their trade to cultivate a better straight man.
A one-hour “make-better” series, “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” is designed for guys who want to get the girl, the job or just “the look”-more style, more sophistication, more chic. Leveraging the expertise and personalities of “The Fab Five,” the makeover unfolds with a savagely funny deconstruction of the subject’s lifestyle and messy home and evolves into a showcase for the hottest styles and trends. After imparting their invaluable tips, wit and wisdom, the Five ends each hour with the revelation of an empowered, stylishly complete straight man with a “Queer Eye stamp of approval.” Last night’s first two episodes of “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” saw “The Fab Five” apply their expertise to the looks and lives of straight guys Butch and Adam.
Last night’s record 1.166 million viewers in the network’s target 25-54 demographic beats Bravo’s previous high, 695,000 by a lofty 68 percent. The previous total viewers record was 1.306 million, the previous 18-49 viewer record was 580,000 and the previous household rating record was 1.43.
“Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” is produced by Scout Productions. The executive producers are David Collins and Michael Williams for Scout, and Frances Berwick, Amy Introcaso-Davis and Christian Barcellos for Bravo. The co-executive producer is David Metzler. The series was created by David Collins, a gay man, and developed by David Metzler, a straight man - a union of sensibilities that gives the show its depth, humor and edge.