Solid Debut For Palin's 'Alaska'

TLC's Sarah Palin's AlaskaThe former running mate is no match for multiples. Sarah Palin's new show drew loads more viewers than TLC's average Sunday, but considerably fewer than "Jon & Kate Plus Eight's" season-five premiere last year. 

TLC said the debut of "Sarah Palin's Alaska" had 4.96 million viewers, below the 9.8 million debut of "Jon & Kate" season five. Still, the nearly 5 million viewers (according to fast national numbers) was above the 1.1 million TLC is averaging this season, by one measure.

In addition, the network said its performance in household ratings and total viewers made it the top-performing series premiere in TLC history.

Among women 25 to 54, Palin had 1.1 million viewers Sunday, compared to a TLC season average of 365,000.

There have been suggestions that the series hosted by Palin, the 2008 vice presidential candidate, and "Alaska: Surviving The Last Frontier" resemble a campaign commercial for her, if she runs for president in 2012.

Palin was an active campaigner in the recent midterm season. She was successful in about half of the races she endorsed, but appears to have been ineffective in her home state, where a candidate she opposed is on the brink of winning.

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1 comment about "Solid Debut For Palin's 'Alaska' ".
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  1. Rob Frydlewicz from DentsuAegis, November 16, 2010 at 8:32 a.m.

    I don't know if it was purposely planned this way, but opposite Palin's show on PBS was a tribute to Tina Fey, who was recipient of the Mark Twain Award for American Comedy (which I'd never heard of although this was its 12th year). It was a delightful show and Fey even thanked Palin for boosting her career.

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