Starz’s ‘Power’ Finishes Strong

Starz’s drama series Power finished its freshman run on a high ratings note, drawing 1.1 million viewers, the network said Wednesday.

The finale of the series, which follows the exploits of James “Ghost” St. Patrick, a club owner and drug kingpin, more than doubled the 462,000 viewers who tuned into the series premiere.

In addition, the episode drew nearly 2.5 million viewers over several airings this past weekend, up more than 20% from the premiere weekend.

Power’s final weekend outpaced all recent Starz finale weekends since Spartacus: War of The Damned, said network officials.

Power’s 71% African-American audience concentration finished as the most of any scripted premium series since 2006, according to the network.

Power will run on Starz sister service Encore Black beginning Aug. 12, said network officials.

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.