Bravo’s “Real Housewives of New Jersey” cast shake-up may not pay off for the network.
Last Sunday’s debut episode attracted 1.2 million viewers in the advertiser-coveted Adults 18-49 demographic. That’s the lowest key demo performance ever for the series.
Things didn’t look much brighter with total viewers. Only 2.1 million total viewers tuned in to the premiere episode, down from 2.8 million for the Season 5 premiere, and 3 million for Season 4. It is the series’ second-lowest premiere audience.
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Season 6 said goodbye to castmembers Caroline Manzo, Jacqueline Laurita and Kathy Wakile. Teresa Guidice and Melissa Gorga have been joined by returning castmember (and Caroline’s sister) Dina Manzo, Amber Marchese and identical twin sisters Teresa Aprea and Nicole Mauriello.
Socially, the show did perform. It generated the most social impressions amongst all cable programs last night with 3.32 million impressions, beating shows like HBO’s “True Blood” and E’s “Keeping Up With the Kardashians.”
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But, social impressions don’t pay the bills. It remains to be seen whether Jersey can raise its live viewing numbers and keep its place as the second-most watched city in the “Real Housewives” franchise. (Atlanta is the franchise’s most-watched city, by the way.)