'30 Rock' scores zero rating in Germany

UPDATED: OK, isn't this cherry picking a routine overseas debut of a U.S. series for sensational effect? You betcha!

By Scott Roxborough

COLOGNE, Germany -- If "TGS" got ratings like this, Jack Donaghy would have killed it years ago.

In its debut on German television Sunday night, Emmy-winning comedy "30 Rock" scored a 0.0 rating, meaning fewer than 5,000 viewers tuned in.

Making Germans laugh is never easy, but the debut was below even the lowest forecasts of broadcaster ZDFNeo. The digital niche channel, which is run by pubweb ZDF, had made "30 Rock" the flagship in its new relaunch, promising more cutting-edge programming for a younger demographic.

But no one, young or old, tuned in Sunday. The BBC comedy "Taking the Flak" also failed to register on the ratings scale and even action drama "The Sentinel" (2006) barely made a dent, reaching 30,000 viewers, for a 0.2% share.

In its old incarnation -- as documentary niche network ZDFDoku -- the channel averaged a 0.3% market share. ZDF's ratings goal is a 0.6% share by the end of next year. The public broadcaster has set aside a budget of €30 million ($44 million) for the relaunch.

UPDATE: NBC is disputing this item to outlets saying the low rating is because "30 Rock" already premiered in Germany on a network called TNT. Thing is, TNT is a pay cable network with 2.5 million households, ZDFNeo is a free network with 24 million households. So you be the judge...