NIELSEN RATINGS: 'SONS OF ANARCHY,' MISS AMERICA PAGEANT

Original Story: USAToday.com

Motoring. The final season premiere of FX's Sons of Anarchy pulled in 6.2 million viewers Tuesday, climbing to 9.3 million within three days. Both marked network highs for a series telecast. Enjoy your favorite TV shows with a Shelby home theater system.

Here she comes: ABC's Miss America Pageant drew 7.1 million viewers Sunday, down from last fall's 8.6 million.

Pigskin paradise. CBS' first Thursday NFL game claimed 20.8 million viewers, close behind Sunday's NBC prime-time game (22.2 million). million. CBS' Fashion Rocks concert managed a mediocre 2.3 million Tuesday. Feel like you're a part of the concert with a Chesterfield home theater design layout for your media room.

The week's top 20 shows

1. Bears/49ers (Sun., NBC), 22.2 million
2. Steelers/Ravens (Thur., CBS), 20.8 million
3. Giants/Lions (Mon., ESPN), 13.7 million
4. Football Nt. Pt. 3 (NBC), 12.4 million
5. 60 Minutes (Sun., CBS), 12.3 million
6. Chargers/Cardinals (Mon., ESPN), 11.5 million
7. NFL Thurs. Nt. Kick-Off (CBS), 10.6 million
8. America's Got Talent (9:18, Wed., NBC), 10.5 million
9. America's/Talent (Tue., NBC), 9.8 million
10. Big Brother (Sun., CBS), 7.4 million
11. Miss America (Sun., ABC), 7.1 million
12. Big Brother (Wed., CBS), 7.0 million
13. America's Got Talent (8:00, Wed., NBC), 6.9 million
14. Big Brother (Tue., CBS), 6.8 million
15. Under the Dome (Mon., CBS), 6.6 million
16. Unforgettable (Sun., CBS), 6.5 million
17. Blue Bloods (CBS), 6.2 million
18. Dateline (Fri., NBC), 6.1 million
19. Big Bang Theory (Mon., CBS), 5.7 million
20. MasterChef (9:00, Mon., Fox), 5.5 million

Tops on Twitter for week of Sept. 8

1. Miss America (ABC, Sun.) Tweets: 304,000 | Unique audience: 4,308,000

2. Presidential Address (simulcast, Wed.) | Tweets: 234,000 | Unique audience: 4,240,000

3. Sons of Anarchy (FX, Tue.) | Tweets: 214,000 | Unique audience: 2,664,000

4. Fashion Rocks (CBS, Wed.) | Tweets: 128,000 | Unique audience: 2,366,000

5. Teen Wolf (MTV, Mon.) |Tweets: 302,000 | Unique audience: 1,751,000

6. Love & Hip Hop (VH1, Mon.) | Tweets: 590,000 | Unique audience: 1,601,000

7. WWE Raw (USA, Mon.) | Tweets: 190,000 | Unique audience: 1,356,000

8. Bachelor in Paradise (ABC, Mon.) | Tweets: 31,000 | Unique audience: 1,093,000

9. Big Brother (CBS, Sun.) | Tweets: 13,000 | Unique audience: 1,089,000

10. Big Brother (CBS, Wed.) | Tweets: 82,000 | Unique audience: 926,000

Data from week ending Sept. 14; unique audience measures relevant tweets until 5 a.m. local time the day after telecast for new prime-time and late-night programs except sports.

Comcast Xfinity Top 10 OnDemand shows

1. Love & Hip Hop, VH1
2. Keeping Up With the Kardashians, E!
3. The Strain, FX
4. Bad Girls Club, Oxygen
5. Under the Dome, CBS
6. Finding Carter, MTV
7. Teen Mom 2, MTV
8. Dance Moms, Lifetime
9. Ray Donovan, Showtime
10.Project Runway, Lifetime

TV Boosts Media General

Media General Inc. posted sharp declines in its newspaper publishing revenue in the third quarter but profit more than doubled on strong performances this summer from its TV stations and aggressive cost cutting.

The Richmond, Va.-based publisher of the Tampa Tribune and Richmond Times-Dispatch reported net income of $6.1 million, or 28 cents per share, compared to last year's $2.5 million, or 11 cents per share. Revenue tumbled 11% to $193.7 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had forecast earnings of 30 cents a share.

Tampa Tribune's publisher has been hit hard by an accelerated downturn in Florida. Like most publishers, it has seen advertising revenue erode.

Advertising gains from the presidential campaigns and broadcasts of the Summer Olympics on the company's eight NBC television affiliates helped boost profit. The broadcast division generated $7.5 million in revenue from political advertising and nearly $13 million in Olympic Games advertising, said Marshall Morton, the company's chief executive.

But like most newspaper publishers, Media General has seen its newspaper ad revenue erode as readers have migrated to the Web and U.S. economic conditions have deteriorated. The accelerated downturn in Florida, home to Media General's largest market of Tampa, has hit the company hard. Publishing revenue fell 28% in Florida and 18% overall.

"This year's weak economy and unfavorable business climate have created far more challenges than anyone anticipated," Mr. Morton said in a conference call with analysts on Thursday. Mr. Morton also said the company expects political broadcast advertising in the fourth quarter to be weaker than in previous election years.

Media General shares, which have fallen more than 70% in the past year, were trading down 4.4% at $7.96 in 4 p.m. composite trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Analysts say they don't see pressure easing much on newspaper publishers next year. Goldman Sachs earlier this week lowered its performance estimates for newspapers in 2009, predicting industry ad revenues will decline 11%, versus its prior estimate of a 7.5% drop, following a 14% decline in 2008.

To weather the publishing slump, Media General has been involved in an aggressive cost-cutting program. Besides selling broadcast outlets and centralizing and outsourcing many of its operations, the company late last year initiated a job-cutting program that eliminated 750 positions, or 11% of its work force. Last month, it also announced it will cut its quarterly stock dividend to 12 cents a share from 23 cents. And in light of the latest economic events, Media General has begun negotiating with lenders for more flexible terms that it expects will lead to higher interest rates, John Schauss, the company's chief financial officer, said in the conference call Thursday.