 According to Nielsen Media Research , the September 26 , 2010 , one @-@ hour premiere episode of Sister Wives drew 2 @.@ 26 million viewers , a strong rating for the network . It marked the biggest series debut for TLC since Cake Boss launched in 2009 and was a stronger rating than any of the season premieres for HBO 's Big Love . The remaining episodes of the first season were each a half @-@ hour long , with two broadcast together each Thursday . In the second week , the first episode drew 1 @.@ 88 million viewers , while the second drew 2 @.@ 13 million . The third week drew similar results , with 1 @.@ 89 million viewers watching the first episode and 2 @.@ 05 million watching the second . Sister Wives drew its strongest ratings during the fourth and final week of the first season , with 2 @.@ 67 million viewers for the first episode and 2 @.@ 74 million for the season finale . As a result of the 2 @.@ 7 million average viewership for the two episodes , TLC ranked first among all ad @-@ support cable channels in the 18 – 49 and 25 – 54 age groups . The series drew <unk> and triple @-@ digit ratings gains in all key demographics and ranked second in ad @-@ supported cable network shows during its time period . 
