the Nielsen ratings are a thing of the past. i don't know why networks still rely on that when a majority of the viewers don't even watch shows on their original air time, but instead DVR the show or watch it On Demand later on. and also take into consideration that this is a show that airs on a Friday night when a lot of people don't stay in to watch television.
networks really need to adjust to the times and take online streaming, On Demand viewing, and DVR into consideration
Advertisers pay much less for those platforms, even when you can't skip the commercials ala Hulu or OnDemand.
The reason for that is because it is really hard to gather advanced demographic data on those platforms. Hulu and Comcast can track total viewers, but they don't yet have reliable means for knowing what age, race, sex, orientation, etc the viewers are.
There's a reason there is a much bigger emphasis on the Nielsen's demographic ratings than on their total viewership numbers. Advertisers pay money to make sure their product is seen by a certain target audience.
So, despite what people say, the demographic ratings are BY FAR the most important factor in whether a network show is renewed or not.
Stuff like Hulu, DVR, Amazon Instant, iTunes, Play Store, OnDemand, etc is eventually going to catch up in terms of measuring demographics but right now they're way behind. The alternative platforms do make some money and they are important for measuring a show's potential audience, but they're not going to save a show that gets bad TV ratings.
Those alternative platform ratings won't matter much to NBC, but if they're good enough they could influence a company like Netflix or Hulu to pick up a show after it's cancelled. And honestly, I think that's Constantine's best hope for a season two.
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