Nearly 12 million for 'Sopranos'

Finale hits ratings high for HBO
By JOHN DEMPSEY


The "Sopranos" faithful turned out in force for the HBO mob drama's final seg on Sunday, but a dizzying 70% of them bailed out of the premiere of unconventional family drama "John From Cincinnati."

The 11.9 million viewers who checked out the "Sopranos" swan song at 9 was the fourth highest number since HBO premiered the mob drama in January 1999. The last time "Sopranos" scored as large an aud was for the season-five premiere in March 2004, when 12.1 million tuned in.

By contrast, "John From Cincinnati" ended up with only 3.45 million viewers at 10, including 1.93 million adults 18-49.

One possible comparison for the performance of "Cincinnati" is the March 2006 premiere of another hourlong HBO series, "Big Love," which did much better in taking advantage of a powerful lead-in: the sixth season kickoff of "Sopranos."

The 2006 "Sopranos" episode drew 9.75 million viewers at 9, and "Big Love" delivered a respectable 4.45 million at 10. "Big Love" held on solidly in the Nielsens throughout its first season, causing HBO to pick it up for a second cycle. The first episode premiered Monday.