Key insights from this report:
Since its formation in 1987, Bunim/Murray Productions has been behind some of the most influential reality TV programs (or ‘docu-dramas’) of the past 20 years. “BMP” is the progenitor of MTV’s legendary The Real World franchise (season 30 kicks off in 2015) and the various spinoffs which Road Rules (1995-2007) and The Challenge. In addition to The Real World, the prod co has created some of the highest-rated series and most talked-about programs on cable TV: Keeping up with the Kardashians and Total Divas. They have also been behind the Kardashian spinoffs in New York and Miami, and the latest spinoff Kourtney & Khloe Take The Hamptons, which premieres next month. Other hits include Project Runway and Project Runway Allstars (Lifetime); The Ruckers: Southern Royals (WE tv); and Bad Girls Club, Bad Girls All Star Battle, Love Games and Best Ink (Oxygen). In January 2004, BMP Co-Founder Mary-Ellis Bunim passed away. The company leadership consists of Co-Founder and Chairman Jonathan Murray and President Gil Goldschein. The company joined Banijay Group in 2010, and the company has added BMP Digital and BMP Latin to its portfolio in recent years. It’s a busy time for the folks over at Bunim/Murray. Total Divas and Project Runway are currently in-season, the Kardashians are incessantly in the news, and season 13 of Oxygen’s Bad Girls Club premieres tomorrow. The season premiere coincides with Tuesday’s network rebrand. Oxygen’s changes will be analyzed more tomorrow. This is as good of a time as any to look into the ratings and trends behind BMP’s series. How have the current shows been performing as of late? How do they stack up against other primetime programs on their respective networks and the rest of the cable landscape? BMP has made it a point to target the 18-34 audience over the years, but has there been a change in median age as of late? The data will be Live+3 viewing.
BMP Programming By The Numbers (2014 to-date)
Let’s compare the performances of BMP’s respective programs this year. P 18-34 and 18-49 will be the focus. BMP has been known to target P 18-34 with its programming, and based on its ratings its pursuit continues to be a successful one. The sole program that sees a higher rating in the P 18-49 demo than the P 18-34 is Project Runway and Proj Runway All-Stars. In terms of total impressions, P 18-49 makes up significantly more than half of the viewership of these programs, with the exception being the Project Runway franchise. Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Project Runway and Project Runway: All Stars are easily BMP’s most-watched series this year. Even after all of these years, The Real World franchise still averaged close to 2 million total viewers per episode in season 29, ahead of the current season of E!’s Total Divas. Only two series, Oxygen’s Best Ink and Tru TV’s Motor City Masters, averaged fewer than 1 million total viewers in 2014 to-date. Tru’s Motor City is sort of a male version of Project Runway, and it was BMP’s first true foray into male skewed reality programming. The season, which wrapped up at the end of August, challenged 10 designers and fabricators to come up with a concept around a different theme each week. In addition to the title of Motor City Master, the winner earned the grand prize of $100,000 and a 2014 Camaro Z/28. Unfortunately it ended up being one of the lowest-rated primetime series on Tru this year. Perhaps BMP should stick to female-skewing reality.
BMP Series vs. Timeslot (P 18-34, P 18-49)
How has each BMP show fared against its timeslot competition? Oxygen’s Bad Girls Club was the second highest-rated program to air in Tuesday, 8pm slot in 2014 (P 18-49). #1 in the key demo was ABC Family’s Pretty Little Liars. BGC was #13 in the 8pm timeslot across all days of the week. VH1’s Love & Hip Hop Atlanta was #1.
Keeping Up with the Kardashians was #2 in the Sunday 9pm slot (P 18-49) in 2014 to-date. #1 was The Walking Dead. Taking over the slot for KUWTK, E!’s Total Divas is #5 overall in the Sunday, 9pm timeslot to-date (P 18-49).
Project Runway is currently airing in the Thursday 9pm timeslot, and is #3 in the key demo in 2014 to-date. Discounting CBS/NFL Network Thursday Night Football, it is generally the #1 original in the timeslot, and remains a powerhouse program in female demos. When it comes to P 18-49, it is behind Pawn Stars and USA’s White Collar in the slot this year to-date.
Real World Ex-plosion (season 29) aired from January – April 2014. It sits in 8th among P 18-49 in the Wednesday 10pm timeslot in 2014 to-date. It was 6th in P 18-34. Other series to air at Wednesday 10pm in 2014 include American Horror Story, Duck Dynasty, sister program Teen Mom, Wahlburgers and Workaholics. Teen Mom out-performed Ex-plosion later in 2014. Speaking of sister program comparisons, let’s find out where BMP series rank versus against their network programming in primetime.
BMP Programs vs. Network Prime Program Averages (Live+3)
Sort by network, program or demo to see where a specific BMP program ranks among other primetime programs on the same network:
Originator | Program | P2+ Median Age | P 18-34 Rtg% | P 18-34 Proj (000s) | P 18-49 Rtg % | P 18-49 Proj (000s) | F 18-49 Rtg % | F 18-49 Proj (000) | F 18-34 Rtg% | F 18-34 Proj (000s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MTV | TEEN MOM II SSN5 | 28.1 | 3.08 | 2080 | 2.15 | 2733 | 3.41 | 2180 | 5.02 | 1695 |
MTV | 2014 VMA PRESHOW | 25.4 | 2.51 | 1700 | 1.91 | 2425 | 2.76 | 1769 | 3.96 | 1339 |
MTV | TEEN MOM II SSN5B | 29.1 | 2.33 | 1577 | 1.74 | 2206 | 2.70 | 1731 | 3.76 | 1274 |
MTV | CATFISH: THE TV SHOW SSN3 | 26.3 | 2.02 | 1363 | 1.41 | 1791 | 2.07 | 1324 | 3.00 | 1012 |
MTV | TEEN WOLF SSN 3B | 22.2 | 1.82 | 1230 | 1.39 | 1761 | 1.61 | 1034 | 2.11 | 713 |
MTV | TEEN WOLF SSN 4 | 21.8 | 1.55 | 1048 | 1.19 | 1510 | 1.41 | 903 | 1.84 | 621 |
MTV | REAL WORLD EX-PLOSION | 25.6 | 1.72 | 1163 | 1.15 | 1457 | 1.45 | 930 | 2.17 | 731 |
MTV | TEEN MOMII SSN 5 UNSEEN | 29.6 | 1.42 | 959 | 1.04 | 1316 | 1.65 | 1056 | 2.29 | 775 |
MTV | CHALLENGE: FREE AGENTS | 28.5 | 1.44 | 974 | 1.02 | 1295 | 1.33 | 849 | 1.88 | 635 |
MTV | AWKWARD SSN 4 | 21.3 | 1.48 | 1000 | 0.93 | 1176 | 1.49 | 956 | 2.42 | 818 |
MTV | 16 AND PREGNANT SSN 5 | 27.9 | 1.23 | 833 | 0.92 | 1173 | 1.51 | 966 | 2.05 | 692 |
MTV | FINDING CARTER | 22.5 | 1.25 | 849 | 0.89 | 1136 | 1.42 | 911 | 2.06 | 698 |
MTV | RIDICULOUSNESS SSN4 | 26.8 | 1.07 | 722 | 0.80 | 1015 | 0.71 | 453 | 0.99 | 334 |
MTV | SNOOKI & JWOWW SSN3 | 27.1 | 1.12 | 754 | 0.77 | 982 | 1.17 | 751 | 1.72 | 582 |
MTV | BEING AMBER | 27.7 | 1.10 | 744 | 0.77 | 973 | 1.21 | 777 | 1.80 | 608 |
MTV | R DYRDEK FANTASY FACTRY 6 | 24.2 | 1.09 | 739 | 0.75 | 952 | 0.65 | 418 | 0.97 | 329 |
MTV | 2014 MOVIE AWARDS PRESHOW | 27.2 | 0.88 | 594 | 0.72 | 909 | 0.96 | 617 | 1.21 | 410 |
MTV | BEING CATELYNN | 28.1 | 1.04 | 706 | 0.70 | 889 | 1.15 | 736 | 1.72 | 582 |
MTV | TEEN MOM II TODDLER MOMEN | 27.6 | 1.01 | 684 | 0.68 | 869 | 1.08 | 694 | 1.57 | 532 |
MTV | BEING FARRAH | 27.5 | 0.94 | 639 | 0.66 | 843 | 1.00 | 643 | 1.46 | 494 |
MTV | RIDICULOUSNESS SSN5 | 28.9 | 0.79 | 535 | 0.65 | 826 | 0.61 | 391 | 0.80 | 271 |
OXYGEN | BAD GIRLS CLUB | 24.1 | 1.14 | 771 | 0.78 | 996 | 1.18 | 756 | 1.75 | 590 |
OXYGEN | BGC ALL STAR BATTLE | 23.7 | 0.70 | 471 | 0.47 | 598 | 0.69 | 442 | 1.07 | 361 |
OXYGEN | PREACHERS OF LA | 42.5 | 0.28 | 190 | 0.40 | 503 | 0.58 | 373 | 0.40 | 137 |
OXYGEN | SISTERHOOD OF HIP HOP | 28.9 | 0.43 | 293 | 0.35 | 447 | 0.51 | 327 | 0.66 | 222 |
OXYGEN | BEST INK | 33.9 | 0.36 | 241 | 0.32 | 408 | 0.42 | 270 | 0.49 | 166 |
OXYGEN | SNAPPED | 48.2 | 0.17 | 117 | 0.24 | 309 | 0.34 | 219 | 0.27 | 90 |
OXYGEN | TATTOOS AFTER DARK | 24.6 | 0.32 | 218 | 0.23 | 294 | 0.34 | 217 | 0.50 | 167 |
OXYGEN | SNAPPED: KILLER COUPLES | 49.9 | 0.14 | 97 | 0.22 | 282 | 0.31 | 196 | 0.23 | 77 |
OXYGEN | CELEBRITIES UNDERCOVER | 30.0 | 0.25 | 166 | 0.20 | 253 | 0.28 | 179 | 0.36 | 123 |
OXYGEN | SNAPPED: KILLER COUPLES | 48.0 | 0.17 | 112 | 0.19 | 245 | 0.27 | 176 | 0.24 | 80 |
OXYGEN | FACE, THE | 44.6 | 0.08 | 54 | 0.09 | 118 | 0.14 | 92 | 0.13 | 43 |
OXYGEN | CHASING MARIA MENOUNOS | 31.0 | 0.11 | 78 | 0.08 | 107 | 0.12 | 75 | 0.17 | 59 |
TRUTV | IMPRACTICAL JOKERS | 32.1 | 0.85 | 572 | 0.80 | 1013 | 0.71 | 453 | 0.78 | 264 |
TRUTV | FULL THROTTLE SALOON | 43.6 | 0.58 | 390 | 0.72 | 911 | 0.59 | 378 | 0.48 | 162 |
TRUTV | LIZARD LICK TOWING | 40.6 | 0.69 | 465 | 0.71 | 907 | 0.65 | 418 | 0.69 | 234 |
TRUTV | HARDCORE PAWN | 48.3 | 0.54 | 366 | 0.60 | 762 | 0.54 | 346 | 0.46 | 156 |
TRUTV | CARBONARO EFFECT, THE | 34.8 | 0.59 | 398 | 0.57 | 725 | 0.49 | 316 | 0.54 | 183 |
TRUTV | SOUTH BEACH TOW | 38.2 | 0.56 | 379 | 0.54 | 692 | 0.52 | 334 | 0.56 | 189 |
TRUTV | FUNNIEST COMMERCIALS YEAR | 47.1 | 0.28 | 191 | 0.44 | 553 | 0.45 | 289 | 0.32 | 108 |
TRUTV | OPERATION REPO | 40.0 | 0.38 | 258 | 0.40 | 509 | 0.38 | 242 | 0.37 | 124 |
TRUTV | PANIC BUTTON | 32.3 | 0.35 | 234 | 0.34 | 437 | 0.30 | 195 | 0.34 | 116 |
TRUTV | JOKERS WILD | 31.0 | 0.41 | 279 | 0.34 | 430 | 0.28 | 178 | 0.36 | 122 |
TRUTV | CONTAINER WARS | 48.3 | 0.27 | 183 | 0.33 | 422 | 0.29 | 184 | 0.25 | 84 |
TRUTV | WORLDS DUMBEST | 43.0 | 0.23 | 153 | 0.30 | 375 | 0.24 | 155 | 0.20 | 69 |
TRUTV | GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS | 39.7 | 0.22 | 147 | 0.26 | 327 | 0.24 | 152 | 0.20 | 68 |
TRUTV | SAFECRACKERS | 44.9 | 0.18 | 123 | 0.24 | 300 | 0.17 | 109 | 0.13 | 42 |
TRUTV | TRUTV TOP FUNNIEST | 45.2 | 0.19 | 127 | 0.22 | 281 | 0.20 | 129 | 0.19 | 66 |
TRUTV | WAY OUT WEST | 43.1 | 0.16 | 107 | 0.20 | 252 | 0.21 | 136 | 0.16 | 56 |
TRUTV | KILLER KARAOKE | 34.0 | 0.16 | 106 | 0.19 | 240 | 0.19 | 124 | 0.16 | 53 |
TRUTV | MOTOR CITY MASTERS | 36.7 | 0.16 | 108 | 0.18 | 224 | 0.14 | 87 | 0.14 | 49 |
TRUTV | UPLOAD WITH SHAQ | 31.0 | 0.18 | 120 | 0.16 | 202 | 0.13 | 85 | 0.14 | 46 |
Keeping Up with the Kardashians has been E!’s top show across the board in 2014, while Total Divas has been #3, right behind new series Botched. Project Runway and Project Runway:All Stars are #3 and #4 among P 18-49 behind Devious Maids and Dance Moms. They are also two of the older skewing shows on the network. Spinoff Project Runway: Under the Gunn has not performed as well for the network. Over on MTV, The Real World programming now sits behind Teen Mom and Catfish. Long-running Bad Girls Club is the #1 show on Oxygen. Best Ink doesn’t do quite as well. It sits behind Sisterhood of Hip Hop and Preachers of LA.
BMP Series Performance Over Time (2010 – Present)
The 2014 ratings and impressions are shown near the top of the report, but here is how each of the current programs has trended over recent years (since 2010). The viewing type is Live+3. Sorting by program (column B) might be the way to go:
Measurement Interval | Originator | Program | P 18-34 Rtg% | P 18-34 Proj (000s) | P 18-49 Rtg % | P 18-49 Proj (000s) | P 2+ Proj (000s) | F 18-34 Rtg% | F 18-34 Proj (000s) | F 18-49 Rtg % | F 18-49 Proj (000s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2010 | OXYGEN | BAD GIRLS CLUB | 1.51 | 1034 | 1.09 | 1439 | 2111 | 2.36 | 801 | 1.65 | 1088 |
2011 | OXYGEN | BAD GIRLS CLUB | 1.37 | 940 | 0.91 | 1194 | 1792 | 2.09 | 711 | 1.36 | 891 |
2012 | OXYGEN | BAD GIRLS CLUB | 1.02 | 691 | 0.72 | 915 | 1491 | 1.57 | 528 | 1.08 | 692 |
2013 | OXYGEN | BAD GIRLS CLUB | 1.09 | 741 | 0.77 | 969 | 1542 | 1.65 | 558 | 1.14 | 728 |
2014 | OXYGEN | BAD GIRLS CLUB | 1.14 | 771 | 0.78 | 996 | 1672 | 1.75 | 590 | 1.18 | 756 |
2012 | OXYGEN | BEST INK | 0.28 | 190 | 0.29 | 371 | 534 | 0.38 | 128 | 0.37 | 239 |
2013 | OXYGEN | BEST INK | 0.35 | 234 | 0.29 | 364 | 563 | 0.47 | 159 | 0.38 | 245 |
2014 | OXYGEN | BEST INK | 0.36 | 241 | 0.32 | 408 | 653 | 0.49 | 166 | 0.42 | 270 |
2011 | MTV | CHALLENGE: RIVALS | 1.94 | 1334 | 1.32 | 1733 | 2188 | 2.30 | 785 | 1.57 | 1034 |
2012 | MTV | CHALLENGE: BATTLE OF EXES | 2.21 | 1495 | 1.50 | 1920 | 2415 | 2.96 | 995 | 1.98 | 1265 |
2012 | MTV | CHALLENGE: BATTLE SEASONS | 1.50 | 1012 | 1.01 | 1274 | 1572 | 2.16 | 732 | 1.40 | 899 |
2013 | MTV | CHALLENGE: RIVALS II | 1.76 | 1189 | 1.24 | 1573 | 2059 | 2.14 | 725 | 1.53 | 981 |
2014 | MTV | CHALLENGE: FREE AGENTS | 1.44 | 974 | 1.02 | 1295 | 1646 | 1.88 | 635 | 1.33 | 849 |
2010 | E! | KEEPING UP KARDASHIANS | 0.56 | 386 | 0.45 | 593 | 889 | 0.82 | 280 | 0.65 | 429 |
2011 | E! | KEEPING UP KARDASHIANS | 0.52 | 357 | 0.44 | 573 | 866 | 0.80 | 272 | 0.65 | 428 |
2012 | E! | KEEPING UP KARDASHIANS | 2.46 | 1660 | 1.98 | 2528 | 3716 | 3.80 | 1278 | 3.01 | 1926 |
2013 | E! | KEEPING UP KARDASHIANS | 2.26 | 1526 | 1.84 | 2330 | 3496 | 3.45 | 1168 | 2.76 | 1769 |
2014 | E! | KEEPING UP KARDASHIANS | 2.18 | 1473 | 1.76 | 2231 | 3343 | 3.41 | 1154 | 2.69 | 1722 |
2013 | E! | TOTAL DIVAS | 1.13 | 765 | 0.88 | 1120 | 1731 | 1.40 | 474 | 1.05 | 670 |
2014 | E! | TOTAL DIVAS | 0.96 | 647 | 0.78 | 994 | 1563 | 1.23 | 416 | 0.98 | 625 |
2014 | TRUTV | MOTOR CITY MASTERS | 0.16 | 108 | 0.18 | 224 | 425 | 0.14 | 49 | 0.14 | 87 |
2010 | LIFETIME | PROJECT RUNWAY | 1.69 | 1154 | 1.80 | 2364 | 4174 | 2.61 | 888 | 2.74 | 1809 |
2011 | LIFETIME | PROJECT RUNWAY | 1.38 | 943 | 1.63 | 2113 | 3986 | 2.24 | 759 | 2.47 | 1605 |
2012 | LIFETIME | PROJECT RUNWAY | 1.03 | 700 | 1.29 | 1645 | 3171 | 1.70 | 573 | 1.96 | 1256 |
2013 | LIFETIME | PROJECT RUNWAY | 0.78 | 529 | 1.04 | 1313 | 2929 | 1.21 | 409 | 1.53 | 976 |
2014 | LIFETIME | PROJECT RUNWAY | 0.73 | 493 | 0.94 | 1193 | 2824 | 1.17 | 396 | 1.39 | 891 |
2012 | LIFETIME | PROJECT RUNWAY ALL STARS | 0.80 | 538 | 1.00 | 1275 | 2574 | 1.28 | 429 | 1.47 | 940 |
2013 | LIFETIME | PROJECT RUNWAY ALL STARS | 0.61 | 416 | 0.86 | 1083 | 2350 | 0.97 | 328 | 1.24 | 794 |
2014 | LIFETIME | PROJECT RUNWAY ALL STARS | 0.58 | 392 | 0.85 | 1083 | 2727 | 0.92 | 312 | 1.29 | 824 |
2010 | MTV | REAL WORLD XXIII | 1.54 | 1052 | 0.94 | 1237 | 1696 | 1.87 | 634 | 1.11 | 734 |
2010 | MTV | REAL WORLD XXIV | 1.94 | 1324 | 1.22 | 1603 | 2169 | 2.42 | 822 | 1.48 | 979 |
2011 | MTV | REAL WORLD XXV | 2.27 | 1556 | 1.44 | 1888 | 2422 | 2.86 | 978 | 1.78 | 1175 |
2011 | MTV | REAL WORLD XXVI | 2.30 | 1555 | 1.44 | 1842 | 2310 | 3.25 | 1089 | 1.95 | 1248 |
2012 | MTV | REAL WORLD XXVII | 1.18 | 797 | 0.84 | 1072 | 1487 | 1.68 | 564 | 1.16 | 743 |
2013 | MTV | REAL WORLD XXVIII | 1.21 | 816 | 0.87 | 1106 | 1446 | 1.50 | 509 | 1.06 | 681 |
2014 | MTV | REAL WORLD EX-PLOSION | 1.72 | 1163 | 1.15 | 1457 | 1863 | 2.17 | 731 | 1.45 | 930 |
In sum, it’s might be time for Bunim/Murray Productions to produce another hit. Total Divas has seen its ratings decrease from 2013 to 2014 to-date. Project Runway is seeing an older audience year-by-year and its ratings in the younger demos are decreasing on an annual basis. The first season of Motor City Masters didn’t perform particularly well for Tru. Oxygen’s Bad Girls Club is the network’s top-rated program, but it has been struggling recently. Keeping Up with the Kardashians made a meteoric jump in viewership from 2011 to 2012. Since then, it has seen ratings declines each year. That said, it remains a force in its timeslot and still grabbed a 2.2 average rating in the P 18-34 demo.
Even though Best Ink has been a middle-of-the-pack show for Oxygen, it has garnered an increase in viewership each of the past three years.
While many BMP shows may be struggling right now, the flagship seems to be back on track. The Real World series has seen a significant bump in viewership this season (29) after back-to-back mediocre seasons. There was a consistent increase from season 23 – 26. Season 27 brought a decrease in ratings (perhaps setting the show in the Virgin Islands as opposed to an American city was a turn off). This season of The Real World brought a change in format for the first time in 21 years. This edition is named “Ex-explosion.” Set back in San Francisco, the roommates moved into their San Francisco home, made relationships with one another and locals. A month in, their exes have moved in as well as additional roommates. The exes were each misled by producers to believing that he or she would be a replacement roommate, unaware the other exes would be moving in as well until move-in day. Apparently the move has worked. Ratings are up. Kudos to BMP for this idea! But is that enough? This franchise won’t last forever…