TV Guide Network Lights Up Demos, Ratings With 'Weeds' Marathon

TV Guide Network's six-night marathon ofWeedsproduced smoking Nielsen results among persons 18 to 49.
Airing Weeds, Showtime's comedy series about matriarch who sells marijuana to support her family, from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. from Oct. 17 through Oct. 22, TV Guide Network averaged 126,000 persons 18 to 49 and a network-best 0.14 mark against the demo, according to Nielsen data. The performance out-delivered the network's third -quarter average against the Madison Avenue-coveted demo by 117% and a 64% gain over the prior-year period.
On a household basis, TV Guide Channel averaged a 0.22 rating and 181,000 households with its Weeds marathon. That represented a 70% increase over the net's third-quarter average in the time period and a 40% advance versus the prior-year period. All told, TV Guide said Weeds was watched by more than 12 million viewers at some point over the six-night stunt.
"The ratings success for Weeds underscores the synergies between Lionsgate and TV Guide Network," said Diane Robina, executive vice president, programming, production and marketing, TV Guide Network, in a statement. "We are transforming the brand and repositioning TV Guide Network as a TV destination for premier entertainment programming."
Weeds airs on TV Guide Network every Sunday, when viewers can catch four back-to-back installments from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.
The series, starring Mary-Louise Parker as Nancy Botwin, is produced by Lionsgate Television in association with Tilted Productions. TV Guide Network is co-owned by Lionsgate and One Equity Partners.