Premiering a new series is always something of a gamble, and new reality shows often don’t need much time to flop. After all, when an audience doesn’t respond well to a personality around whom the entire show revolves, there really isn’t a whole lot that can be done to fix it. Fortunately for CMT, new show I Love Kellie Pickler has found the right person for the spotlight. Ratings for the show have been pretty stellar for the network, and it’s pretty safe to say that America really does love Kellie Pickler.
The series premiere of I Love Kellie Pickler pulled in a fantastic 2.5 million total viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research. Perhaps more importantly, Kellie Pickler garnered a .81 rating with women in the valuable 18–49 demographic as well as a .53 in the overall 18–49 demographic. Such ratings are solid for most cable channels, and CMT looks to have a bona fide hit on its roster.
CMT is also taking into account the numbers garnered by Pickler and I Love Kellie Pickler that fall outside day-of Nielsen ratings. Including encore airings over the weekend following the Thursday premiere, a social media ranking that took it to the #2 primetime reality series mentioned on Twitter, and a huge upswing in visits to the CMT.com, it’s safe to say that the network certainly loves Kellie Pickler.
It definitely didn’t hurt the network that Kellie Pickler was already a beloved figure. She burst into the spotlight as a contestant on American Idol in 2005, coming in sixth place. She was more successful on the reality circuit as a contestant on Dancing with the Stars, emerging as the victor of Season 16. Her time in the public eye served her well as her fun-loving personality and witticisms endeared her to viewers. And reality presence aside, Kellie Pickler was a perfect person to bring into the fold on CMT. Despite her loss on American Idol, the exposure that the Fox series gave to her powerful voice and song-writing abilities launched her on a career as a successful country music performer.
The premiere of I Love Kellie Pickler was a fun first look at the family and friends with personalities big enough to keep Pickler more than busy, and her relationship with husband Kyle Jacobs promises to be positively adorable on screen. Overall, the first numbers for I Love Kellie Pickler are everything that CMT could have hoped for. Fans of the new show probably will not have to worry too much about cancellation any time soon, and CMT won’t have to worry about an influx of puns that can be made about a flopped show called I Love anything.
I Love Kellie Pickler airs on Thursday nights at 10 p.m. ET on CMT.
