Weekend Cable Ratings: 'True Blood' vs. 'Breaking Bad'

It looked like it was going to be a battle, and it was. Last Sunday's episodes of "True Blood" and "Breaking Bad," two of the hottest shows on cable at the moment, went head to head, and both were poised to pull in big audiences. Audiences were indeed large, but neither series rose to the ratings level of much-hyped recent episodes.

This week's "True Blood" episode was the finale of the sixth season, and it was the last chapter in the first season led by new showrunner Brian Buckner. The finale introduced major plot twists, including the deaths of two characters, but the upheaval didn't draw a record number of viewers. The episode was viewed by 4.1 million viewers during its first airing at 9pm, a somewhat disappointing number. The season's first episode drew 4.5 million viewers, and last season's finale drew 5 million. Still, it was enough to earn second place in the night's cable ratings race.

"Breaking Bad" was coming off record ratings for last week's season 5-and-a-half premiere episode. That episode pulled in 5.9 million viewers, the most for any episode of the series, and it was a level that proved impossible to sustain for two weeks in a row. This week's episode drew 4.8 million, a drop of nearly 20% from last week. But the number was high enough to handily beat "True Blood."

"Keeping Up with The Kardashians" was a distant third place in the race, with 2.7 million viewers.