Reuters reports that Tuesday's second season opener of MTV's hit reality series, which featured legendary rocker Ozzy Osbourne and his wife Sharon at a White House dinner, drew an average of 6.6 million viewers, making it the most-watched cable TV program of the night, the network said on Wednesday. The episode, which also featured daughter Kelly singing the Madonna classic "Papa Don't Preach" at the June MTV Movie Awards, was hotly anticipated in part because the first season of the series had brought the family cult celebrity status.

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MTV, which was quick to do a two-year, 20-episode deal with the family after the series took off, said Tuesday night's show was the highest-rated and most-watched program of the fourth quarter on basic, advertising-supported cable. Although year-over-year comparisons are difficult since the hype around the show grew as its first season ran, the network said the second-season premiere was up 84 percent among audiences ages 12 to 34 compared to the series premiere.

At its peak in May, the show was drawing close to 8 million viewers, on average, making it the highest-rated program on cable and a smash hit for the music and entertainment network.

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