smushed

Smash Is Now Losing to the Oprah Winfrey Network

SMASH --
Photo: Craig Blankenhorn/NBC

This is what it’s come to for NBC’s Smash: The once-promising series is now doing worse than … Iyanla, Fix My Life. According to final Nielsen ratings data released this morning, Saturday’s Smash averaged a mere 0.4 rating in the crucial demo of adults under 50, while on the same night, over at Oprah Winfrey’s OWN, the season premiere of Iyanla (with featured guest DMX!) averaged a 0.6 rating. In fairness, it’s worth noting that the two shows didn’t go head-to-head: Smash aired at eight, Iyanla at nine. And, yes, Smash will potentially triple its ratings once DVR viewership is tallied in a few weeks. But still: A lavish and expensive (if almost certainly soon-to-be-dead) network series drew lower numbers than a self-help show on the (formerly) struggling OWN. And, sadly, Iyanla wasn’t the only Saturday show that smushed Smash: The drama also scored lower demo ratings than ABC’s under-the-radar new game show Bet on Your Baby, repeats of History’s Pawn Stars and MTV’s Ridiculousness, and what was no doubt the zillionth showing of Toy Story 2 on the Disney Channel. (All of those shared the 8 p.m. hour with Smash). Maybe Iyanla fixes musicals too?

Smash Is Now Losing to the Oprah Winfrey Network