On the surface, ratings for Sunday’s edition of “Total Divas” look good. The episode, which kicked off the second half of the show’s inaugural season, outperformed its previous telecast in all key demographics.
The surface lies.
While “Divas” indeed built on its midseason finale, the comparison is one of apples-to-oranges. The preceding edition of “Total Divas,” which aired on September 15, broadcast without support from its flagship “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” lead-in.
It is therefore more appropriate to compare this Sunday’s numbers to those of the September 1 telecast, which did receive help from Kim and company. And despite receiving that support, which was nearly identical from episode to episode (~1.3 adults 18-49 rating with 2.3 million viewers Sunday versus a 1.2 with 2.3 million viewers on September 1), this Sunday’s episode delivered lesser numbers.
According to E!, Sunday’s “Total Divas” attracted 1.3 million viewers with 746,000 (roughly a 0.6 rating) falling in the adults 18-49 demographic. The September 1 edition of “Divas” drew a 0.8 rating with 1.53 million viewers.