There was no uncertainty going into the ratings race Thursday–the final season premiere “Jersey Shore” was going to deliver ratings well below those posted by last season’s opener.
And, indeed, that happened. But those expecting the show to completely fall off the map were also proven wrong.
“Shore”‘s two-hour premiere delivered a 2.4 adults 18-49 rating Thursday, down sharply from last season’s 4.0 but still ahead of everything else but NFL Football on cable. The viewership average of 4.4 million was also down from prior premieres.
With the “Pauly D Project” and “Snooki & JWoww” spin-offs posting ratings well below those figures, it was undoubtedly refreshing for MTV to see that the flagship could still draw a sizable adults 18-49 crowd.
How that will hold up ahead of the series finale remains to be seen.