The long, strange journey that has been MTV's “Jersey Shore†will finally come to an end on Dec. 20, when the cable channel will broadcast the series finale, but how many viewers will still be around to see it?
Based on the Nielsen ratings for the past few weeks, audience totals have been trending downward to lows not seen since the show, and its group of well-tanned stars, were unknown commodities three years ago.
The Nov. 29 episode drew only 2.4 million total viewers, barely half as many as the 4.7 million who watched the Season 6 premiere on Oct. 4. It was also the lowest total for the series since the first season, when the Dec. 17, 2009, episode drew 2.5 million. Five other episodes from this season have drawn fewer than three million viewers. By comparison, last season no single episode ever dropped below four million. And of course, these totals are far below the meteoric heights of the show's heyday, when it flirted with almost nine million.
“Jersey Shore†does still draw a fair share of viewers between the ages of 18 and 49, the demographic group most prized by advertisers. In that category, it consistently ranks as the highest-rated cable program that is not related to football on Thursday nights, although it is also down on average compared to previous seasons.
