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Television

Even though it was the absolute worst episode of the entire series…

…”The Sopranos” Finale Draws 12.5 Million Viewers
HOLLYWOOD (Variety) – The 75-minute fourth-season finale of “The Sopranos” on HBO drew 12.5 million viewers — more than any other show in its time period on any outlet.
The episode was the second most watched program in HBO history, after the “Sopranos”‘ season premiere, which 13.4 million viewers watched. HBO also boasted a victory among adults 18-49, 7.5 million of whom tuned in.
Overall, the 13-episode fourth season of the drama drew an average 11 million viewers during its Sunday night runs. That’s up considerably from the third season, which averaged 9 million viewers and ran in the less competitive spring.
“The fourth season of the ‘Sopranos’ was a particularly good experience for us at HBO,” David Baldwin, executive VP of program planning for HBO and Cinemax, told Daily Variety.
“We’ve never been this aggressive in terms of programming a fall season. We also had ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ and ‘Mind of the Married Man’ stacking up on Sunday nights,” Baldwin added.
Still, the performance was what HBO expected, Baldwin said.
“It mirrors almost exactly season three, mostly staying flat and staying even throughout the season,” he said. “We didn’t score quite as high in our finale as we did for the premiere, but that was the same kind of dynamic we experienced for season three.”
The number of people who consistently watched the fourth season of “The Sopranos” was actually more than the 11 million average, which comprises the Sunday night preem only. Baldwin said about 1.3 million people tune into each episode’s subsequent repeat plays throughout the week.
“There are not too many series around like ‘The Sopranos,”‘ he said. “If you looked at homes that have HBO, our subscribers watch ‘Sopranos’ more than any other series on television.”