Breaks in the second episode instead featured internal MTV clips and “multiple direct-response ads for a stretch-mark removal cream”, according to reports.
The programme also lost about half its viewers after only one episode. While 3.3 million people watched its debut on January 17, this had fallen to 1.6 million by the following week.
The exodus of advertisers and tumbling ratings led to reports in the New York press that MTV executives were “running around like mad” attempting to save the show from swift cancellation.
The Los Angeles Times said that defence from Hollywood, which usually leaps to the aid of programmes threatened with censorship, had been muted.
“This deafening silence stems from the fact that the show is, all moral objections aside, pretty darn bad,” said Mary McNamara, its television critic.
Bryan Elsley, a co-creator of the series, wrote an article on The Huffington Post in its defence. He described it as “a very serious attempt to get to the roots of young people’s lives.”
MTV, which was reported to be editing episodes to tone down explicit content, has repeatedly defended it and said advertisers were still willing to back it. It has denied reports the show may be cancelled.
- The US version of Skins airs on MTV on Mondays at 10.00pm ET