'Teen Wolf' Drops as Ratings Ramifications of Carriage Standoff Remain Mixed

MTV

As it approaches its one-week anniversary, Viacom's carriage-induced blackout for DirecTV customers has had mixed effects on ratings.

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But the absence of the 20 million U.S. satellite subscribers now barred from the 26 Viacom-owned networks -- Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, VH1, BET and MTV among them -- was noticeable on Monday night.

MTV drama Teen Wolf took a sizable drop, falling to a season low of 1.327 million viewers. That's a 23 percent hit from last week's 1.719 million viewers, roughly in line with the 20 percent that DirecTV subscribers make up of MTV's distribution. The series also posted a 1.21 rating among households, nearly 25 percent shy of its season average of a 1.6 rating.

Elsewhere in Viacom's scripted efforts, VH1 drama Single Ladies was below 2 million viewers for the first time in a month. The series fell 23 percent from the previous Monday, 1.933 million down from 2.498 million, after a similarly depressed lead from Love and Hip Hop Atlanta.

It's not bad news across the board, though. MTV's Awkward, a critical favorite showing season-to-season growth in its sophomore run, was almost dead even in its first broadcast without the DirecTV audience. Thursday's episode drew 1.715 million viewers, down a mere 45,000 from the previous week.

Entering week two, talks between Viacom and DirecTV are ongoing, but the prospect of a lingering blackout seems to have people at all levels anxious.

Teen Wolf showrunner Jeff Davis has been tweeting with hundreds of fans after offering to gift 500 people Monday's episode on iTunes -- if they sent him proof of being a DirecTV subscriber.