Ratings: ‘America’s Next Top Model: Guys vs. Girls’ has solid launch on The CW

While we cannot possibly imagine doing a ratings update on “America’s Next Top Model” over the next several weeks, we did think it valuable to at least show how Tyra Banks’ long-running series fared in its big return to The CW Friday night. This is the first time the show has been on the air since last fall, which is rare for the series to take that long of a break.

However, it seems to have been a gamble worth taking. This episode drew overall a rating of 0.6 in the 18-49 demographic, which is an increase of a tenth in the demo from where the show premiered last year. Also, its 1.6 million viewers (rounded up) is solid for a network that has a few shows that struggle to even get to a million.

We do think that cross-promotion is valuable, and comparing it to the runaway hit “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” (already renewed for a second season) is a mistake. Instead, look at this “Guys vs. Girls” season this way:

-The premiere drew double the rating of many “Nikita” episodes airing on Friday nights in-season for the network. It tripled the ratings of “Cult” easily from earlier this summer, and is doing the same vs. “Breaking Pointe,” which has the advantage of airing on Mondays.

-In comparing “America’s Next Top Model” to other in-season shows, this is as good of rating as “Hart of Dixie” saw at times, and it is better than “The Carrie Diaries” and on par with “Beauty and the Beast.”

For a show that airs on a tough night and in a tough time of year, these are numbers that The CW has to be happy with, especially since many original shows on the big four networks on Fridays fared to do much better in the demo. If this momentum keeps up, we would be surprised if the show is not renewed.

If you want to read our full review of the “America’s Next Top Model” premiere, just be sure to click here.

Photo: The CW