Low-rated start for MyNetworkTV

MyNetworkTV's first week on the air was a ratings wash-out, Nielsen Media Research data has revealed.

The network, which due to its weekly schedule is rated by week and not by night, averaged a paltry 0.5 rating and a 2 share in the key 18-49 demographic. (1 ratings point represents 1% of the total number of TV households in America; share is the percentage of in-use TVs tuned into a particular channel or programme.)

Both of MyNetwork's telenovelas, Desire - which was today picked up by Trouble in the UK - and Fashion House, averaged just over a million total viewers and saw their numbers drop night-on-night.

"We never had any expectations on the first week ratings," Jack Abernathy, CEO of MyNetworkTV operator Fox Stations Group, told Variety. "We're not going to obsess over any one week or one night. We're in this for the long haul."