Following daily ratings anymore is quite a disappointment. Just looking at how the live figures plummet every year it makes one wonder if anyone’s watching TV at all. Considering networks like CBS have declared they are shifting focus to DVR +7 ratings, suddenly statements about boosts for live + 3 day ratings have a whole new signifigance other than a PR tool.
Since we have a vested interest in certain shows here at TV For the Rest of Us, here’s some nice blurbs about four of those shows regarding the last two weeks of ratings:
Person of Interest
9/23 season premiere: Person Of Interest (P) added +3.46m viewers (14.04m from 10.58m), +1.2 rtg pts in adults 25-54 (3.9 from 2.7) and +0.8 in adults 18-49 (2.5 from 1.7) live plus three day lift from live plus same day. Person Of Interest posted the night’s top lift in viewers. PERSON OF INTEREST moved from third place in adults 18-49 to a tie for second with “Forever” (2.5 rating each).
9/30 airing: Person Of Interest added +2.94m viewers (13.66m from 10.72m), +1.1 rtg pts in adults 25-54 (3.7 from 2.6) and +0.8 in adults 18-49 (2.6 from 1.8) live plus three day lift from live plus same day. Person Of Interest posted the night’s top lift in viewers.
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D
9/23 season premiere: ABC’s Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. opener went up to 8.9 million viewers (+48% – up +2.9 mil from 6.0 mil L+SD) and a 3.2 in Adults 18-49 (+52% – up +1.1 from 2.1 L+SD). S.H.I.E.L.D.’s L3 gains were much higher than last year’s debut in viewers (+48% vs. 31%) and young adults (+52% vs. 38%). With bigger playback lift than its CBS drama competition in the hour (52% vs. 28%), S.H.I.E.L.D. moved up to tie the NCIS-driven debut of NCIS: New Orleans at a 3.2 rating in AD18-49 in the 9pm time slot, after trailing by 4-tenths in the L+SD numbers (2.1 vs. 2.5). At 52%, SHIELD delivered a bigger lift than any of its Tuesday drama competitors in Adults 18-49.
9/30 airing: The audience for ABC’s Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. increased to 7.5 million viewers (+47% – up +2.4 mil from 5.1 mil L+SD) and a 2.8 in Adults 18-49 (+56% – up +1.0 from 1.8 L+SD). Continuing to trend ahead of last year’s young adult L3 lifts (+56% vs. +48% for the year-ago telecast), S.H.I.E.L.D. equaled the series’ 2nd-highest-ever percentage increase for any telecast from Live + Same Day to Live + 3 Day. More than doubling the playback lift of its CBS drama competition in the hour (56% vs. 26%), S.H.I.E.L.D. closed the gap to move up into a virtual tie with NCIS-led NCIS: New Orleans in Adults 18-49 (2.8 rating vs. 2.9 rating) in the 9pm time slot, after trailing by 5-tenths in the L+SD numbers (1.8 vs. 2.3).
Sleepy Hollow
9/22 season premiere: SLEEPY HOLLOW had a 50% lift to a 3.0 from a 2.0 18-49 demo rating.
9/29 airing: SLEEPY HOLLOW saw a +53% lift to a 2.6/7, closing the gap a bit with its premiere.
Gotham
9/22 series premiere: The premiere episode of GOTHAM jumped +1.8 ratings points in the L3s to a 5.0 rating in Adults 18-49 (up +56% from same day). This far exceeds our original projection of a 4.5 rating in the L3s. After only 3 days of delayed viewing, GOTHAM out-rated Scorpion (4.6) by a significant margin and tied the season premiere of The Voice. GOTHAM also outperformed the season premiere of Blacklist (4.9 rating), making it Monday’s #1 drama in the core adult demo.
9/29 airing: GOTHAM saw a huge lift from 3 days of delayed viewing – up 1.4 ratings points to a 4.2/13. In the Live +3s, GOTHAM ended up tying CBS’ Scorpion, which in the same-day ratings had outperformed it by three tenths.
Source: TV By The Numbers
What does all this mean in the end? Depends on the network and the executives analyzing. For fans though, any boost must be a good thing, right? Enjoy the love.
One of the things I like most on this site is your articles about ratings, so thank you Alice! Please, make more of them, ratings are so fascinafing (and mysterious).
I too applaud these articles, Alice.
Also, CBS just announced they’re launching TV via the internet…here’s the link to the SpoilerTV article: http://www.spoilertv.com/2014/10/cbs-becomes-1st-major-network-to-launch.html
In it they discuss Nielsen ratings being tracked this way as well. Interesting read to me anyway, as someone not truly with their finger on the pulse of how all this works, but it looks like the days of CBS appearing to be behind the times of the technology age are in the past. They are the first network to launch this. Wonder how this will play out ratings-wise going forward.