'Caged' off to rocky start

MTV's martial arts series "Caged" got off to a rough start in its premiere Monday night. Skein drew only 619,000 total viewers in its 10 p.m. debut and another 541,000 for a repeat telecast an hour later. In the cabler's targeted 12-34 demo, "Caged" scored a meager .64 rating for the initial telecast. MTV offered a sneak preview of "Caged" at midnight last week following the premiere of the new season of "Jersey Shore" and drew 1.2 million. Cabler is hoping there is a ratings uptick next week, when the series won't have to face competition such as the BCS college football championship game that may have taken away male viewers. "Caged" follows a group of disparate Louisiana teen boys who may be having hard time getting their lives together but find solace and self-affirmation inside the ring. Series is exec produced by Joke Fincioen, Biagio Messina, Dave Sirulnick and Amy Bailey. Contact Stuart Levine at stuart.levine@variety.com