USA’s WWEMonday Night Raw and NBC Sports’ Winter Olympic coverage dominanted social media traffic for television shows on President's Day, according to Nielsen.

Raw averaged 1.2 million Facebook, Instagram and Twitter interactions last night, topping all entertainment-based shows, said Nielsen’s Daily Social Content ratings chart. ABC’s The Bachelor was second, followed by VH1’s Love & Hip Hop and Love & Hip Hop Miami. PBS’ Independent Lens rounded out the top five.

NBC Sports drew 1.6 million social media interactions for its combined Winter Olympics coverage on CNBC, NBC and NBCSN to lead all live sports programming for the night, according to Nielsen.

ESPN’s NFL Monday Night Football dominated African-American viewing for the week of Nov. 6 to Nov. 12 – one of four programs from the sports network to finish in the top 10, according to Nielsen. 

ESPN’s Nov. 6 coverage of the Green Bay Packers-Detroit Lions game drew 1.7 million African-American viewers, topping all cable shows for the week. ESPN’s Nov. 11 Alabama–Mississippi State college football game finished 6th for the week, while its two Nov. 8 live NBA game telecasts finished in the 8th and 9th spot respectively, according to Nielsen.

Bravo’s Nov. 12 episode of Real Housewives Of Atlanta was second for the week, followed by VH1’s Nov. 6 Love And Hip Hop show and OWN’s Nov. 7 episode of If Loving You Is Wrong.

Bravo’s freshman series Xscape Still Kickin It finished fifth with its Nov. 12 episode. OWN’s Nov. 8 Queen Sugar show finished in 7th place, and TNT’s Nov. 9 NBA basketball telecast rounded out the top 10, according to Nielsen.

Get complete coverage of The Diversity Discussion.

The success of TV shows like VH1’s Love and Hip Hop featuring diverse casts should spur other networks to look to create more programming featuring people of color in various roles and content genres, according to Mona Scott-Young, founder and CEO of Monami Entertainment.

Young, speaking Monday at the The Diversity Discussion event, said the success of reality franchises such as Love and Hip Hop tap – for which she serves as executive producer – taps into a desire for multicultural audiences – and African-American audiences in particular – to see themselves on the screen.

“Having the opportunity to provide a point of entry for women of color in particular became a very important agenda for me because those opportunities both in front of and behind the screen are few and far between,” she said in a discussion with Broadcasting & Cable editor Dade Hayes. 

Scott-Young also conceded that while the Love and Hip Hop franchise – which includes several successful spinoffs – has been a ratings hit for VH1, it has also garnered a fair share of criticism for its often salacious character portrayals.

“There has been a ton of backlash because people feel like these representations aren’t what we want to see of ourselves,” she said. “There has been two schools of thought about having a show like Love and Hip Hop that has brought tremendous success to the network, but some folks feeling it might not be the image of diversity that some want to see.”

Still, she said the show is helping to open up more opportunities for the network as well as the industry to offer more diverse programming. “[The industry] can no longer discount the audience and the advertising dollars that the show brings,” she said. “At the end of the day that’s what counts.”

Scott-Young added that she doesn’t want to be “pigeonholed” into developing just reality content, adding that she’s working on several other projects including a scripted series. She also said while the content side of the business is saturated with programming, she’s confident that she’ll continue to create programming that stands out of the pack.

Scott-Young also lamented about the need for more diversity and inclusion behind the camera and within the executive suites. Young said that within her company she’s cognizant of hiring qualified people of color and women of all ages.

“There are older women who tell me once you’re of a certain age its hard to break in, much less move up the ranks, so that’s something that I try to work against as well,” she said.

The made-for-TV couple from this season’s edition of The Bachelor — Ben Higgins and Lauren Bushnell — will be getting the hottest and most buzzworthy wedding gift that television can give: a spinoff series.

Their new series Ben and Lauren: Happily Ever After — premiering this fall on Freeform, sister cable network to The Bachelor’s home of ABC — will join a multitude of spinoffs from successful reality series franchises across the cable dial. In many cases, these off shoots perform as well or better than their parent shows in the ratings.

More than one-third of cable’s top 30 reality shows for the period of June 1, 2015, to May 31, 2016, were reality franchises and their respective extension shows, according to Nielsen. Such extensions, which can potentially cannibalize viewers from their parent series, were once considered a risky play for networks. Now, they are sought-after content with built-in brand recognition and an audience base that can be lured in without a great deal of marketing effort.

“Spinoffs are so big these days because it’s so hard to launch new series today … there’s so much content to choose from and it’s so hard to reach people with new ideas and a new series,” Shari Levine, executive vice president of production for Bravo, said. “When you are doing a spinoff you’re delivering a show to a ready-made viewer that’s somewhat susceptible. You don’t have to explain the concept to them. Half of the marketing is done for you.”

Related:'Deadliest Catch’ Hooks a Spinoff [subscription required]

For some cable franchises just one or two spinoff shows aren’t enough to satisfy the appetite of loyal viewers. Bravo’s Real Housewives franchise — which follows the lives of affluent housewives from various parts of the country — has branded a whopping nine separate series over the past decade.

GETTING HARDER TO ‘KEEP UP’

E! later this year will launch its limited reality series Rob & Chyna, focusing on the lives of celebrity couple Rob Kardashian and Blac Chyna, another spinoff from the long-running series Keeping Up With the Kardashians.

VH1’s Love & Hip Hop, which chronicles the lives and relationships of hip hop and R&B musicians, has spawned three spinoff series: Love & Hip Hop: New York, Love & Hip Hop Atlanta and Love & Hip Hop Hollywood.

And the Atlanta version has spun off two series of its own, K Michelle: My Life and Stevie J & Joseline: Go Hollywood. And despite all the iterations from the original franchise, it seems viewers are singing the praises of virtually all of these series. Current seasons of Love & Hip Hop, Love & Hip Hop Atlanta and Love & Hip Hop Hollywood all finished among the top 15 most-watched reality series over the past year, according to Nielsen. The sixth season of parent franchise Love & Hip Hop averaged 3.3 million viewers (on a live-plus-7-day basis), topped only by the fourth season of Love & Hip Hop Atlanta, which drew 3.6 million viewers.

Brand recognition is paramount when trying to break through in crowded television marketplace, E! and Esquire Network president Adam Stotsky said. Once a brand is established with viewers, he said, the ability to extend it over a multitude of programs gives networks a leg up on the competition.

E!’s Kardashians empire remains strong and fertile, according to Stotsky. Flagship Keeping Up With the Kardashians is still among the most-watched shows on cable, averaging 2.9 million viewers over the past year, besting all of its franchise extensions, which include I Am Cait, Kim and Khloe Take the Hamptons and Dash Dolls, as well as new series Revenge Body With Khloe Kardashian, to launch later this year.

“Given that competitive landscape and the marketing challenges faced in launching new franchises and brands from scratch, working off an existing base where viewers know who these characters are and the world they live in is like makes for an easier entry point for consumers, and alleviates some marketing pressure for the networks,” Stotsky said.

Still, a franchise extension isn’t a slam dunk. Producers must still find a viable new setting, location or character around which to build a spinoff series.

“You have to listen to your audience because they vote with their thumbs on the remote controls everyday,” Stotsky added. “It’s a balancing act — on the one hand, the opportunity to extend versus the risk of cannibalization and oversaturation, and that’s something we monitor.”

Discovery Channel decided to bring back contestants from its popular survival-themed series Naked and Afraid, challenging them to endure a much longer and tougher survival challenge in the buff via sophomore spinoff series Naked and Afraid XL, Denise Contis, executive vice president of development and production for Discovery, said. The result was another hit series for the network, with Naked and Afraid XL garnering 3.8 million viewers during its freshman run, beating out its predecessor’s 2.7 million viewers.

“The spinoff is authentically motivated by the contestants themselves, who are looking to push themselves even further,” Joe Boyle, executive producer of both series, said. “Instead of just that process of learning to work with one other human being, they’re learning to survive and work with a number of other human beings and the ramifications of that. It gives us a much larger playing field in terms of character development.”

EXTENSIONS OF ANOTHER KIND

Other networks are doing more unconventional franchise extensions. AMC, which this July will debut the Stephen David-produced Making of the Mob: Chicago — a spinoff of last year’s Making of the Mob: New York — also looked to basic cable’s top-rated scripted series, zombie thriller The Walking Dead, to beget Talking Dead, the reality genre’s most-watched series over the past year. The live recap talk show, hosted by Chris Hardwick, drew 6.3 million viewers during the period, according to Nielsen.

TV One is doing the complete opposite of AMC: It’s spinning off an episode of Unsung, its unscripted docuseries on popular R&B artists, into an original telefilm. An Unsung episode on the 1990s R&B singer Miki Howard served as the basis for Love Under New Management: The Miki Howard Story. Its June 12 debut drew more than 2 million viewers across multiple viewings, setting a network ratings record for an original film, said D’Angela Proctor, head of original programming and production for the African-American-targeted TV One.

As long as networks are serving viewers with unique content that fits within the confines of a particular franchise, there’s no such thing as too many spinoff s, Bravo’s Levine said. Along with the Housewives franchise, Bravo has already built multiple shows around such franchises as Million Dollar Listing, Married to Medicine and Below Deck.

“As long as it’s working, there isn’t a limit, but I don’t think you know until you actually do it,” she said.

USA Network’s WWE Monday Night Raw series drew the most tweets of any television show on Monday, according to Nielsen.

The live, three-hour primetime show generated 143,000 tweets from 30,000 unique Twitter users, besting second place finisher, VH1’s Love & Hip Hop Atlanta, which drew 81,000 tweets, according to Nielsen’s Twitter TV Ratings report.

NBC’s The Voice was third, followed by ABC’s Dancing With The Stars and VH1’s Black Ink Crew, said network executives.

TNT’s coverage of the Oklahoma City/ San Antonio NBA playoffs game was the most tweeted live sports event, generating 340,000 tweets from 146,000 unique Twitter users, said Nielsen.

Chris McCarthy has been named General Manager of VH1, replacing VH1 president Tom Calderone who is leaving the network.

McCarthy, who most recently oversaw MTV2 and Logo, will be responsible for the day to day operations of the reality series-driven VH1, reporting to Doug Herzog, President of the Viacom Music and Entertainment Group. 

Calderone informed VH1 staffers of his departure in a letter yesterday. “ I’m reaching out today because I am leaving the VH1 family. And with that in mind, my very first thought, was to send an email to say thank you to all of you,” Calderone said.

McCarthy will oversee a network that has delivered several top reality shows including the Love & Hip Hop franchise and recently has developed several original movies.

The network’s ratings in second quarter 2015 were down 19%, according to Nielsen.

“Chris is a multi-talented executive with a proven ability to build brands and drive viewership across very different demos,” said Herzog.  “He’s a forward-thinking leader for this new era in media and a terrific fit for VH1, a beloved brand with a strong team and a unique place in pop culture.” 

The new VH1 Series, K. Michelle: My Life featuring Love & Hip Hop star, will take viewers throughout her NYC journey with friends and family.

Premiering Nov. 3 at 9 p.m., friends Paris, Jonathan, Nema and Tracie join as K. Michelle moves into her life as a best-selling recording artist.

As new career and family issues arise, the star strives to find a healthy work-life balance in her new career. With her 10-year-old son, roommate and childhood friend, K. Michelle struggles with past relationships, managing her time and more.

Mona Scott-Young and Stephanie Gayle serve as executive producers for Monami Entertainment and Toby Barraud, Stefan Springman, Mala Chapple and Jeff Grogan for Eastern TV. K.Michelle and Jeff Robinson are also executive producers.

To see a preview for the new series, click here.