The second season premiere of “Snooki & JWoww” delivered perfectly acceptable numbers for MTV Tuesday, but the viewership level also reveals the extent to which “Jersey Shore” has fallen from pop culture grace.
Tuesday’s episode delivered a 1.1 adults 18-49 rating with 2.09 million viewers, placing the show third among cable originals. The winter premiere of “Pretty Little Liars” (1.4, 3.21 million) and season premiere of “Justified” (1.3, 3.59 million) both attracted larger audiences; re-runs of “The Big Bang Theory” and “Family Guy” also held dominant positions for the evening.
Though down in total viewers from last season’s premiere, which drew 2.36 million sets of eyeballs, the season two premiere matched its 1.1 demo rating. It also grew significantly from the 0.9 rating and 1.55 million viewer marks set by the first season finale.
Hardly an all-out flop, the “Snooki & JWoww” spin-off is still taking a backseat to MTV’s buzzworthy launch “Catfish” in the ratings. Since premiering this fall, the show has steadily attracted a larger segment of the adults 18-49 demographic. Monday’s episode, the series’ seventh, drew a 1.4 rating in the demo and 2.52 million viewers.
Having broadcast only one week of episodes, “BUCKWILD” must prove its staying power, but it also attracted a larger audience than “Snooki & JWoww” for its premiere. Airing in the “Jersey Shore” timeslot, its positioning further cements how the Seaside Heights-based franchise, which ended its broadcast run last month, is no longer the face of MTV.