Ratings Drop for "Sarah Palin's Alaska"

NEW YORK (CBS) Everyone's talking about (and watching) Bristol Palin's run on "Dancing with the Stars," but her mother's foray into reality TV hasn't been as lucky in the ratings.

Ratings for "Sarah Palin's Alaska" reportedly plummeted for the show's second episode.

The show fell 40 percent on Sunday night, to 3 million viewers, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The premiere drew 5 million viewers, setting a ratings recordfor a TLC show debut.

Only 885,000 of those viewers were in the coveted 18-49 age bracket, dropping 44 percent from last week. The report states that the show's median age is 57 - 15 years older than TLC's average.

TLC reportedly anticipated the drop, with executives realizing that some of the numbers from the show's premiere were driven by curiosity about the program. Competition from "Sunday Night Football" and the American Music Awards may have also had an effect on the numbers.

"We are very happy with the ongoing strength of "Sarah Palin's Alaska," and it continues to drive big ratings gains for TLC," a network spokesperson told THR, also noting that "Conan" experienced a similar drop after its debut.

And not even Bristol Palin's much-talked-about appearance in the "DWTS" finals could help the show that debuted after it, "Skating with the Stars."

The reality show, which pairs celebrities with pro figure skaters, couldn't hold onto the "Dancing" audience. It only received 11.1 million viewers, while "DWTS" had 23.3 million.