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Some Hope for America: Real Housewives of D.C. Ratings Only OK

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I mentioned last week that I was especially curious to see how strong the ratings were for The Real Housewives of D.C. on Bravo, as a test of how fatigued America was with the Salahis and/or the Real Housewives franchise. When I saw the headline claim of the ratings release Bravo sent out, I could tell the show was not an out-of-the-box smash hit: “BRAVO’S “THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF D.C.” RANKS AS NO.1 TELEVISION SHOW IN 9PM HOUR IN WASHINGTON D.C.” That like saying that your new show is the #1 program of the evening at your mom’s house.

Ratings website TV By the Numbers did a deeper read of the show’s ratings—about 1.6 million viewers overall and 1 million in the 18-49 demo—and finds that the ratings, while open to varying interpretations, are not terrible compared with the first-season launches of earlier Housewives series. But they’re not especially good etiher, falling 25% lower in the demo than the launch of The Real Housewives of New Jersey. America, there is hope for you after all.