After a strong network launch on Monday that easily eclipsed previous ratings performances from former channel holder Fox Soccer, FXX delivered its first night of original programming on Wednesday.
The comedy-centric cable outlet debuted new seasons of FX imports It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The League and late-night talker Totally Bias With W. Kamau Bell.
STORY: FXX Off to Solid Start Ahead of Big Premieres
Always Sunny, kicking off its ninth season, anchored the block at 10 p.m. The comedy averaged 757,000 viewers in its first airing on the new network. It also averaged a 648,000 adults 18-49 and a 575,000 adults 18-34, retention of 80 and 85 percent from last season's opener. Also dwon from last fall's 1-million-strong premiere, it's losses were small considering the move -- and it actually grew 8 percent in men 18-34.
FXX currently airs in 72 million homes, down a 26 million homes from FX, which accounts for much of the initial audience dip.
"There are a lot of things that go into how we evaluate our shows, outside of just ratings, and we're very clear that they're not going to perform how they perform on FX," programming president Eric Schrier recently told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview with counterpart Nick Grad. "It's a long-term play."
The League started its fifth season with 786,000 viewers. It grew from Sunny's haul, and was within even closer reach of the key adult demos from last year's premieres.
W. Kamau Bell is in a slightly different position with Totally Bias. The young talk show, part of FX's move into late night last year, kicks off its FXX run as a nightly program. The episode brought in 90,000 adults 18-34 and 137,000 adults 18-49.
More to come...
