• by Wayne Friedman , June 23, 2009

TLC's highly marketed and publicized "Jon and Kate Plus 8" easily scored the cable network's best results ever for any show, totaling a massive 11 million viewers.

The episode -- which focused on the couple's impending divorce -- was the highest-rated show ever for a Discovery Networks channel.

The show blitzed all records for virtually all demographics -- most viewers, 10.6 million; adult 18-49 ratings, a 5.7; women 18-49, an 8.1; adults 18-34, a 6.5; men 18-34, a 3.7; and women 18-34, a 9.3.

Previously, "Jon & Kate" earned 9.8 million viewers for its season five premiere episode, which ran at the end of May.

TLC used the big 9 p.m. episode -- marketed for weeks in many consumer and business entertainment trade magazines -- as well as with TLC's own promos -- to launch a new show at 10 p.m., "Cake Boss." It scored 4.5 million viewers, a bit less than half of the big "Jon and Kate" episode.

As a comparison, TLC said "Cake" outperformed every single program on the Food Network among key demos for ratings and delivery since 2000.

For weeks, it has been rumored that Jon & Kate Gosselin -- who have eight children, a set of sextuplets and a set of twins -- would be filing for divorce. That was confirmed in the Monday night episode.

The couple and TLC said the show would continue after a break. Next week's show will be a retrospective of the couples' decade-long marriage. The show will return August 3.