Teen Mom 2 Season 5 Premiere draws 3.2 million viewers, top rated show on cable

The ladies of Teen Mom 2 returned with a bang Tuesday night with lots of drama… and lots of viewers! The Season 5 premiere episode drew a total of 3.2 million viewers according to a press release issued by MTV earlier today, which means the premiere was up 20% from the Season 4 Premiere in February. The show garnered a 1.6 rating in the all-important Adults 18-49 category, making it the number one original show on cable Tuesday night! Those numbers seem to clearly indicate that the nearly one-year break between seasons has done very little to diminish fans’ interest in the lives of Leah, Chelsea, Kailyn and Jenelle!

* It should be noted that MTV’s numbers in the press release don’t really match up with the Nielsen numbers posted on TV By the Numbers. They show the Teen Mom 2 Premiere having 2.756 million viewers. I am guessing that MTV added the viewers from the show’s later airing as well? Even so, the premiere was still the number one rated original show Tuesday night and was still up on the Season 4 Premiere, which had 2.656 million viewers.

Here’s the press release from MTV, which also reveals the network’s new romantic competition reality series Are You the One did well drafting off Teen Mom 2 with 1.4 million viewers tuning in for its 11/10c series premiere:

MTV’S “Teen Mom 2” SEASON 5 PREMIERE IS TUESDAY’S #1 PROGRAM ACROSS ALL TV WITH P12-34

“Teen Mom 2” Draws in 3.2 Million Total Viewers, Up Nearly 20% vs. the Season 4 Premiere; New Series “Are You The One?” Debut Draws in 1.4 Million Total Viewers

New York, NY (January 23, 2014) — MTV had a huge Tuesday night with the season five premiere of “Teen Mom 2” scoring a 2.5 P12-34 rating, making it Tuesday’s #1 program across all TV with P12-34, while the series debut of “Are You The One” raked in a 1.2 rating amongst P12-34.

Moving back to Tuesdays, “Teen Mom 2” with Kailyn, Chelsea, Jenelle and Leah drew in 3.2 million total viewers, up nearly 20 percent from the season four premiere and “Are You the One?” debuted following “Teen Mom 2,” averaging 1.4 million total viewers. Additionally, “Teen Mom 2” was one of the most social television series of the night on Tuesday seeing close to 118K tweets (according to Social Guide.)

“Teen Mom 2” – Tuesdays at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT

The fifth season of this groundbreaking show continues to go behind-the-scenes, offering a candid look of what life is really like as a young mother. Just when you thought these young women could not take on anything more, their lives lead them to deal with issues that affect their future as well as those of their young children.

In next week’s episode, Jenelle recovers from her procedure and meets a new guy. Chelsea has her first day of Esthetician School. Kailyn and Jo disagree about her move to Delaware while Leah goes on vacation but argues with Jeremy about his upcoming job.

A recent study released by the National Bureau of Economic Research, found that “16 and Pregnant” and “Teen Mom” may have contributed to one-third of the decline in teen birth rates. For more information on the study you can go to the National Bureau of Economic Research website. The teen birth rate in the U.S. declined 29 percent between 2007 and 2012. Despite the steep decline in teen birth rates, more than 700,000 teenage girls in the U.S. still become pregnant each year and nearly one out of every ten children in the U.S. is born to a teenage mother. The vast majority of these pregnancies are unintended. In a 2012 poll by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, 77 percent of teens age 12-19 who have seen “16 and Pregnant” and “Teen Mom” say the shows “help teens better understand the challenges of pregnancy and parenting.”

Viewers can also go to MTV.com, the MTV brand app (available on iOS, Android and Xbox) or to the “Teen Mom 2” Facebook page for sneak peeks of the show including bonus/extended scenes and exclusive interviews with the moms.

“Teen Mom 2” is Executive Produced by Morgan J Freeman and Dia Sokol Savage. Lauren Dolgen is Executive Producer. Kendra MacLeod is Co-Executive Producer. Andy Portnoy and Janay Dutton are MTV Executives in Charge of Production. Lauren Dolgen, Jessica Zalkind and Sara Cohen are Executives for MTV. Concept by Lauren Dolgen.

“Are You The One” – Tuesdays at 11:00 p.m. ET/PT

“Are You the One” is a social experiment on modern love with the new series “Are You the One?” – helping 10 women and 10 men find their perfect match. These hopeful romantics participated in a rigorous matchmaking process using a unique dating algorithm created to help quantify compatibility. The result? Recommended matches for the 20 singles with the goal of meeting the perfect partner. Using this technology, 10 ideal pairs have been identified and will ultimately come face-to-face with their true match – the catch is that the results were kept a secret from the singles. Throughout the course of the season, each of the potential lovers must uncover the mystery of their “soul mates” identity.

In the next episode, as they continue to search for their perfect match, Chris T. jeopardizes the team with his inability to move on from Shanley. When Ryan’s journals go missing, he finds comfort in Kayla, who is also finding comfort in Wes.

“Are You the One?” concept by Executive Producers Howard Schultz, Rob LaPlante and Jeff Spangler of Lighthearted Entertainment. Scott Jeffress is Executive Producer for Lighthearted Entertainment. Lauren Dolgen, Tiffany Lea Williams, Maura Madden and Matthew Parillo are Executives in Charge for MTV.