Lip-syncing has emerged as an Internet trend, with videos of everyone from dueling celebrities to talented toddlers going viral. Spike TV is capitalizing on this fact by getting celebrities to go to “battle” and see whose lip-syncing skills will prevail in its hit show “Lip Sync Battle.” The season two premiere, featuring a head-to-head between couple Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan-Tatum, scored a record 4.7 million viewers. The one-hour special’s ratings peaked with 6.4 million viewers at Tatum’s performance of Beyoncé’s “Run the World (Girls)” – during which Beyoncé herself made an appearance and Tatum ended the skit bowing to the “Queen Bee.” The premiere shattered ratings records for Spike, including the most watched episode of an original series in its history, as well its highest female viewership—a big victory for Spike as it tries to move beyond its original marketing as the first television network for men and appeal to a broader audience.

The January 7 telecast managed to break more than just Spike’s records. It’s ranked #1 in all of television for adults in its timeslot and drew enormous attention on social media with #LipSyncBattle as a top trend on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. The premiere has been a driving force in generating YouTube buzz, with more than 50 million views to the Lip Sync Battle channel, and 18 million hits alone on Tatum’s “Run the World (Girls)” versus Dewan-Tatum’s “Pony” showdown video. Take a look for yourself:

The Daily

Subscribe
Friday–April 16

People

CommScope chief legal officer and secretary Burk Wyatt is retiring on June 1 after more than 25 years at the company. Justin Choi will succeed him as chief legal officer

Read the Full Issue
The Skinny is delivered on Tuesday and focuses on the cable profession. You'll stay in the know on the headlines, topics and special issues you value most. Sign Up

Jobs

Seeking an INDUSTRY JOB?
VIEW JOBS

Hiring? In conjunction with our sister brand, Cynopsis, we are offering hiring managers a deep pool of media-savvy, skilled candidates at a range of experience levels and sectors, The result will be an even more robust industry job board, to help both employers and job seekers.

Contact John@cynopsis.com for more information.