Z on TV: Top Chef season premiere scores top ratings - Sun critic David Zurawik writes about the business, culture and craziness of television

The Baltimore Sun > Entertainment > TV > Z on TV

« MSNBC Palin hoax: the wages of partisan newscasting | Main | This weekend at Z on TV: "Reliable Sources" and "60" »

November 14, 2008

Top Chef season premiere scores top ratings

Top Chef, the Bravo reality series that numbers among its contestants Baltimore's Jill Snyder, scored its highest ratings ever for a season premiere this week.

The fifth season premiere of the Emmy-Award-winning series attracted 1.870 million adults 18 to 49 years of age and 2.695 million total viewers to rank number one in its time period in all key demographics vs. all cable competition.

The Wednesday night debut of Top Chef: New York was up 27 percent in adults 18 to 49 years of age and by 19 percent among total viewers compared to last year's premiere of Top Chef: Chicago.

Good news online, too: At BravoTV.com, the Top Chef: New York site generated 1.1 million page views vs. 527,000 for the premiere of Top Chef: Chicago premiere in March.

(Above: Bravo Photo of Jill Snyder by Heidi Gutman)

Posted by David Zurawik at 7:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Comments

Hi Jill! Thanks for wearing my "Key West Pillow" necklace! I saw it and so did my friends on the first episode of TOP CHEF season 5! Keywesrtglass.com is forever grateful!

Posted by: mary o'shea, key west, FL | November 17, 2008 5:00 PM

Post a comment

All comments must be approved by the blog author. Please do not resubmit comments if they do not immediately appear. You are not required to use your full name when posting, but you should use a real e-mail address. Comments may be republished in print, but we will not publish your e-mail address. Our full Terms of Service are available here.

Name:

Email Address:

URL:

Remember personal info?

Comments: (you may use HTML tags for style)

Please enter the letter "v" in the field below:

About David Zurawik

I've been The Baltimore Sun's TV critic since 1989. My writings on TV and media have appeared in such publications as TV Guide, Esquire magazine and American Journalism Review. I have a Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Maryland, College Park, and an M.A. in specialized reporting (on popular culture) from the University of Wisconsin. I'm the author of The Jews of Prime Time (Brandeis University Press), a look at 50 years of Jewish characters and identity on network TV. I have also been with WYPR-FM (88.1) radio since 1994 and can be heard Thursday mornings at 7:30 doing a weekly "Take on Television" report.

-- ADVERTISEMENT --

Recent posts

Most Recent Comments

Poll: How many will watch Kate Gosselin's special? (98)
Rose wrote: I will watch the show. I have seen... [more]
'Jon & Kate Plus 8' -- More bad ratings news (79)
Carrin wrote: Since TLC does not see the harm the... [more]
White House war on Fox: Will press be bullied? (43)
Paul_D wrote: So, what would that make MSNBC? ... [more]
Kate Gosselin to 'answer' questions in TLC special (196)
Lina wrote: To Isabel, Being "strong" and "not... [more]
War on Fox: Is this best use of White House talent? (173)
Kathleen Newberry wrote: Obama & his corrupt administration ... [more]

What's on TV tonight?

TV listings powered by Zap2it

TV Listings & Movie Times

Find it fast

Photo galleries

Baltimore Sun coverage

Z ON TV COLUMN • David Zurawik's "Take on Television"
(Courtesy of WYPR FM)

MORE TELEVISION AND MEDIA NEWS