Ratings

[AgentPat]

just imagine if they were partnered with another half decent show on Thursdays...

Just imagine if there was a half decent film to segue into...



Oh wait. N'mind.

Bad Pat. BAD!!

 

[Serene]

Smallville and Supernatural would be a good Thursday partnering.

I would LOOOVE that. I hate that Supernatural is on against House now.

 

[AgentPat]

There's a lengthy article about the Thursday night ratings battle here:
http://www.tvweek.com/article.cms?articleId=28897

Apparently, other networks may be looking to cash in on the prize, which will ramp up competition even more for SV. I find this a bit worrisome, but right now, it's all peaches and cream. Here's an excerpt from the article that is specific to SV's success:

The WB clearly realized the financial importance of Thursdays when it moved "Smallville" and "Everwood" to that night. "The WB was very smart for putting 'Smallville' there," said Steve Sternberg, executive VP and director of audience analysis at Magna Global. "That's doing very well." So well, in fact, that "Smallville" is breaking its own ratings records in some demos and is helping The WB post time-period highs.​

 

[NHawk19]

hmm wonder if this means that other nets will try to come up with an SV knock-off

 

[AgentPat]

hmm wonder if this means that other nets will try to come up with an SV knock-off

I think they're just looking to do some creative time-slot swapping. That said, programming does run in trends. The reality show trend is slowly running out of steam (thank goodness!), and a new trend in scripted suspense shows is on the rise. On average though, superhero skeins don't usually have a long shelf life. The ones that do are those that take a cross-genre approach between drama (for relate-ability) and sci-fi (for action/adventure.) Probably the best example of this would be The Six Million Dollar Man, which I believe ran for four seasons, spurred a successful spin-off series (Bionic Woman), and was the only show to give 60 Minutes a run for its money during a time when there were only three major networks and a TINY handful of competing netlets whose share ratings were so insignificant, they weren't worth noting.

 

[RakuMon]

From MediaWeek:
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/newsletters/proginsider/index.jsp

The WB in November:
Programming Notes

With the start of the November 2005 sweep just 9 days away, what follows is a glimpse of what’s coming up on the WB:

Movies:
-Felicity: An American Girl Adventure – Tuesday, Nov. 29: 8 p.m. ET

Guest Stars:
-Tom Wopat reunites with John Schneider on Smallville - Thursday, Nov. 3: 8 p.m. ET
-Steve R. McQueen (Steve McQueen’s grandson) on Everwood - Thursday, Nov. 3: 9 p.m. ET
-Barry Bostwick on What I Like About You - Friday, Nov. 4: 8 p.m. ET
-Michael McDonald on 7th Heaven – Monday, Nov. 7: 8 p.m. ET
-Milo Ventimiglia reprises his role as Jess on Gilmore Girls – Tuesday, Nov. 8: 8 p.m. ET
-Dana Delany on Related – Monday, Nov. 14: 9 p.m. ET
-Loretta Devine on Supernatural – Tuesday, Nov. 15: 9 p.m. ET


Ratings Box:
What’s Hot/What’s Not

-Final Thursday Nationals:
Dominant CBS ripped past the competition on Thursday courtesy of its combination of Survivor: Guatemala, CSI and Without A Trace, which beat distant No. 2 NBC by 85 percent in households, 11.03 million viewers and 51 percent among adults 18-49. The WB, meanwhile, had plenty to crow about with the relocated Smallville and Everwood lifting the network to its highest ratings ever for the evening among men 12-34 (2.4/ 8), and tying its best ever among men 18-49 (2.2/ 6). The biggest loser: two repeat episodes of struggling Fox drama Reunion at a paltry 1.8/ 3 in households, 2.58 million viewers and a 1.0/ 3 among adults 18-49 from 8-10 p.m.

What follows are the final national ratings for Thursday, Oct. 20:

-Households:
CBS: 13.9/22, NBC: 7.5/12, ABC: 4.2/ 7, WB: 3.3/5, UPN: 2.2/ 5, Fox: 1.8/ 3

-Total Viewers:
CBS: 22.07 million, NBC: 11.04, ABC: 5.96, WB: 5.23, UPN: 3.44, Fox: 2.58

-Adults 18-49:
CBS: 7.4/19, NBC: 4.9/13, WB: 2.2/ 6, ABC: 2.1/ 5, UPN: 1.4/ 4, Fox: 1.0/ 3

Source: Nielsen Media Research data


I'm sure Pat can help some people make sense of these numbers.
All I know is that they're nuthin' but good news for the WB!!

 

[avidreader]

The figures I struggle to grasp, are

Total Viewership, which for the WB is 5.23
Against Smallville viewers 6.4

If someone could explain that one to me, I would appreciate it.

Is it as simple as adding the two time slots and dividing them by two. If thats what it is, then well I dunno. I guess it just is.

 

[The Incredible Hulk]

The 3.3 is households, the 5.23 is viewers...


this should help you:

The United States has roughly 99.4 million homes with televisions in them and about 230 million people living in those homes. The most common measurement that you'll see in the press and on the Internet uses homes rather than people. Each ratings point represents 1% of the television homes in America or 994,000 people.

Say, for instance, an episode of Smallville gets a 4.0 rating; that means 3,976,000 homes were tuned into that show. It also means that 4.0% of the homes in America with televisions were watching Smallville that week. If a show earned a 4.5, that would mean 4,473,000 homes or 4.5% of American homes were watching that particular episode.

If you hear "The Super Bowl earned a 65.5 rating," you can assume that the speaker is referring to the homes rating. Homes is essentially the default type of rating used by the press and Internet sites.

While homes deals with the 99.4 million TV homes in America, demographic ratings deal with the 230 million people in America. The entire population is broken into groups (usually by age and sex in reference to the Nielsens) and then referred to in a way similar to the way homes are. A 4.5 men 25-34 rating means that 4.5% of the nation's population of men aged 25-34 was tuned in.

Slightly more complicated is the calculation of the share. A television show's share is the percentage of televisions *on* that were tuned into a particular show. For instance, there are 99.4 million homes, but maybe only 60 million have their TVs turned on at 8pm on Thursday when Smallville airs. That means that while the show's rating could be a 4.0, its share would be 7. Although only 4.0% of the total television homes in America (3,976,000 homes) were watching Smallville, that represented 7% (6.6% to be exact) of the television homes that had their TVs turned on.

Share is calculated in the same way for demographic numbers -- if 5 million women 18-49 watched a show, the standard rating would be a percentage of *all* the women aged 18-49 that 5 million women represent. The share, on the other hand, would be the percentage 5 million women represent out of all women 18-49 who were watching TV at the time.

Share is only calculated for network shows that air nearly simultaneously across the nation. It's not calculated for syndicated shows. Syndicated shows don't air on a network like UPN, the WB, Fox, NBC, CBS, and ABC, they're sold directly to individual stations and air at different times across the nation.

 

[AgentPat]

^

Thanks, Hulk!

 

[avidreader]

Thanks for going to the trouble of posting that, I dont know if you changed it to reflect Smallville specifically. If you did thank you, as it certainly makes it easier to understand.

However, I dont think it covered the numbers I was referring to.

We usually see the writeups say that Smallville had 6.4 million viewers last night. Everwood had 4.8 million.


Then the usually say total viewership 5.3 million. I wondered if that was the average over the 8 to 10 timeslot on that particular night, or is it something else.

Sorry for picking the brains but my last job I was a data analyst for a Hospice, so I'm really into this stuff.

 

[The Incredible Hulk]

oh sorry, yes I believe thats the prime time (8-10 PM) averages of the networks

 

[avidreader]

oh sorry, yes I believe thats the prime time (8-10 PM) averages of the networks

Cool! Thanks for that, your a champ.

 

[AgentPat]

...We usually see the writeups say that Smallville had 6.4 million viewers last night. Everwood had 4.8 million.

Then the usually say total viewership 5.3 million. I wondered if that was the average over the 8 to 10 timeslot on that particular night, or is it something else.

Yeah, these numbers are for the entire night (averages), not just single shows...

-Households:
CBS: 13.9/22, NBC: 7.5/12, ABC: 4.2/ 7, WB: 3.3/5, UPN: 2.2/ 5, Fox: 1.8/ 3

-Total Viewers:
CBS: 22.07 million, NBC: 11.04, ABC: 5.96, WB: 5.23, UPN: 3.44, Fox: 2.58

-Adults 18-49:
CBS: 7.4/19, NBC: 4.9/13, WB: 2.2/ 6, ABC: 2.1/ 5, UPN: 1.4/ 4, Fox: 1.0/ 3

This is why you'll sometimes see stats that put Everybody Loves Chris over SV. ELC is a half hour, and it does quite well in the 8-8:30 slot. But it's followed by Love Inc., which does horrible (comparitively.) So from 8-8:30pm, ELC "wins." But when the numbers are averaged together for those two shows, Love takes down ELC's numbers and voila, SV "wins" the 8-9pm time slot. Statistics (ratings) can manipulated to look good depending on what you compare and when.

 

[avidreader]

Yeah, these numbers are for the entire night (averages), not just single shows...

-Households:
CBS: 13.9/22, NBC: 7.5/12, ABC: 4.2/ 7, WB: 3.3/5, UPN: 2.2/ 5, Fox: 1.8/ 3

-Total Viewers:
CBS: 22.07 million, NBC: 11.04, ABC: 5.96, WB: 5.23, UPN: 3.44, Fox: 2.58

-Adults 18-49:
CBS: 7.4/19, NBC: 4.9/13, WB: 2.2/ 6, ABC: 2.1/ 5, UPN: 1.4/ 4, Fox: 1.0/ 3

This is why you'll sometimes see stats that put Everybody Loves Chris over SV. ELC is a half hour, and it does quite well in the 8-8:30 slot. But it's followed by Love Inc., which does horrible (comparitively.) So from 8-8:30pm, ELC "wins." But when the numbers are averaged together for those two shows, Love takes down ELC's numbers and voila, SV "wins" the 8-9pm time slot. Statistics (ratings) can manipulated to look good depending on what you compare and when.

Thanks Pat. You're a trooper too.

I've noticed that on Craig's site. If he didnt say Smallville had a good night last night, you would think that it had had a lousy night as he always has it down at number 7 or 8. He takes into account the half hour shows on NBC and UPN.

You can all go back to work now, I'll sit here and study my numbers.

 

[NHawk19]

This is why you'll sometimes see stats that put Everybody Loves Chris over SV. ELC is a half hour, and it does quite well in the 8-8:30 slot. But it's followed by Love Inc., which does horrible (comparitively.) So from 8-8:30pm, ELC "wins." But when the numbers are averaged together for those two shows, Love takes down ELC's numbers and voila, SV "wins" the 8-9pm time slot. Statistics (ratings) can manipulated to look good depending on what you compare and when.

Is that why we havent seen much in the way of sitcoms on the ratings lately? Because what they are "tied" to does poorly?

 

[AgentPat]

Is that why we haven't seen much in the way of sitcoms on the ratings lately? Because what they are "tied" to does poorly?

Yes and no. Like I said, it depends on the time slots being quoted. Sit-coms have fallen out of favor recently too though. In point of fact, most of the really good sit-coms have ended their runs. Even Desp. Housewives has inexplicably taken a dip in the ratings.

People are fickle, even in the genres they usually watch. Sometimes, all it takes is one bad episode to turn somebody off - or just not keep them interested enough to come back the following week. I was SOOOO excited about The Night Stalker this year. I watched the first episode, found it bow-RANG, and haven't seen another ep since. And while Supernatural was better overall, I lost my attention span somewhere in the middle of the second episode and that was it. Cya. Not sure how "typical" I am in the greater scheme of television viewership, but if a show doesn't grab me with relatable, interesting characters and great stories, I'm the first rat off the sinking ship. Pathetic, huh? LOL

This is what episodic tv is up against. They HAVE to keep audiences interested EVERY week. And for shows like SV, that means they have to produce 22 hours of stellar programming every year or risk hemorrhaging viewers. Large scale motion pictures get two years and 10 times the budget to produce one tenth of the same amount of entertainment. I've done TV production work; it's not a walk in the park by any stretch of the imagination.

 

[NHawk19]

Makes sense. My name is Earl is about the only sitcom I watch. It's fresh doesnt take place on the same set constantly, and doesnt feel like a sitcom. I will say though I'm having a hard time wanting to stay with it because there is no other 1/2 hour show on after it.


I suppose that cable, DVRs, DVDs, Video Games, the Net, etc. is all starting to take their own toll on the industry, by offering more choices. I'm finding more and more that I would rather do this etc. than watch TV, so a show must be creative and grab hold of my interest as well. SV has accomplished that thus far, that's not to say I feel the show is 100% perfect but it's definetly up there compared to what's on TV now.

Also feel that the movies are experiencing the same problem on perhaps a grander scale, hence the down turn in attendence.

 

[Pickle-El]

Makes sense. My name is Earl is about the only sitcom I watch. It's fresh doesnt take place on the same set constantly, and doesnt feel like a sitcom. I will say though I'm having a hard time wanting to stay with it because there is no other 1/2 hour show on after it.


I suppose that cable, DVRs, DVDs, Video Games, the Net, etc. is all starting to take their own toll on the industry, by offering more choices. I'm finding more and more that I would rather do this etc. than watch TV, so a show must be creative and grab hold of my interest as well. SV has accomplished that thus far, that's not to say I feel the show is 100% perfect but it's definetly up there compared to what's on TV now.

Also feel that the movies are experiencing the same problem on perhaps a grander scale, hence the down turn in attendence.

THIS has got to be the funniest 1/2 hour on TV right now! And it's on right after Earl!

 

[triplet]

THIS has got to be the funniest 1/2 hour on TV right now! And it's on right after Earl!

You know, I've tried watching that show like four or five times and just can't get into it but it's now against Supernatural and House, so it's not an issue anymore.

It comes a distant third.

 

[Pickle-El]

Well, that particular humor is absolute gold to me....Carrell and his buddy with the glasses are just hilarious. I've seriouly re-watched all the episodes like 3x on Tivo. Last weeks Halloween episode had me cracking up...

 

[darkzombiemutt]

The office is a great show, I dig it. I've only seen Earl once and it was ok, I'll give it a few more chances only cuz Jason Lee is comic gold.


Does anyone know how much Smallville can spend on effects right now?

 

[Zing79]

Well, that particular humor is absolute gold to me....Carrell and his buddy with the glasses are just hilarious. I've seriouly re-watched all the episodes like 3x on Tivo. Last weeks Halloween episode had me cracking up...

You see...while I hate you for supporting that other Superman themed thingie, its moments like this that bring me back.

That Halloween ep was the shiznit. The "My Name is Earl/The Office" combo is the ONLY comedy TV I currently watch.

And you're right, the Assistant Regional Mana--Assistant TO the Regional Manager! charater is priceless. I still think the episode where he got jealous of the Temp was some of the funniest TV I've seen in a long time.

 

[Pickle-El]

You see...while I hate you for supporting that other Superman themed thingie, its moments like this that bring me back.

That Halloween ep was the shiznit. The "My Name is Earl/The Office" combo is the ONLY comedy TV I currently watch.

And you're right, the Assistant Regional Mana--Assistant TO the Regional Manager! charater is priceless. I still think the episode where he got jealous of the Temp was some of the funniest TV I've seen in a long time.

'What are you supposed to be, a Monk?'

(throws head back into chair in frustration)

'I'm a Sith Lord'

and

the goddamn Sith Lord impersonation in the office with Carrell and his 2 heads.......(hehe)..CLASSIC.

 

[Zing79]

'What are you supposed to be, a Monk?'

(throws head back into chair in frustration)

'I'm a Sith Lord'

and

the goddamn Sith Lord impersonation in the office with Carrell and his 2 heads.......(hehe)..CLASSIC.

You see this people? You too could join in on these classic inside joke moments, if you were cool enough to watch The Office.

 

[NHawk19]

THIS has got to be the funniest 1/2 hour on TV right now! And it's on right after Earl!

I've tried watching it and I stand by my statement. I just cant get into it. I deal with office politics and regular politics all day, just dont need to see them on TV.