Unless otherwise noted, the ratings numbers below are based on the final overnights and may vary slightly from the preliminaries reported on the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site.
Series Debut: On Friday, NBC shows Grimm and Constantine both had their season debuts and pulled okay numbers, though nothing spectacular. The former series had its fourth season bow and had a 1.4 rating in the 18-49 demo with 5.3 million total viewers. That’s down from the 1.8 score the show pulled for its Season 3 debut, but still decent enough numbers for a fourth season show on a Friday night. I’m thinking if this one doesn’t drop much further, NBC will be happy to keep it going just to plug up the timeslot on that low viewership night (and to pad out the episode count for its eventual syndication run). In the next hour, Constantine had its series premiere with the same 1.4 rating and 4.3 million total viewers. I’m neutral on those numbers at this point and want to see at least one more episode’s ratings before making any sort of call. Dracula debuted with a 1.8 rating last year in that timeslot, but went on a quick downturn and eventually got cancelled. That series ended up averaging a 1.1 rating for its ten episodes, so I am thinking NBC will want higher for Constantine for it to earn a renewal. However, after that mid-season ratings slump that hit all the broadcast nets, maybe they won’t be as picky about the Friday 10 PM EST timeslot (queue the screams of outrage from Dracula fans). This is wait and see at the moment, and the only thing I can say now is at least Constantine did not bomb with its debut.
On the Hot Seat: ABC’s Resurrection slipped yet again this week, this time to a 1.2 rating in the 18-49 demo with 4.4 million total viewers. That show is now officially in dangerous waters and I am raising the Cancellation Alert to Medium. I considered going even higher, but I’m sure some will argue that it had tough competition from the World Series, football, and The Walking Dead. Well, next week it won’t have the World Series to contend with, but those other two aren’t going away. Unless this show jumps up several ticks next week, I am raising the alert level again.
Ratings Results of Note: The Walking Dead slipped again this week to a 7.0 rating in the 18-49 demo with 13.8 million total viewers (Oh no! A death spiral!), but it was still the highest rated show on all of television in the demo except for Sunday Night Football (which beat it by only one tick at a 7.1 score). Last year, the show slipped down into the low 6’s / upper 5’s after the season opener and we may see that again this time around. Also of note, TWD’s discussion show The Talking Dead beat everything else on cable and on the broadcast nets on Sunday except for sports programming. When more people watch a show talking about another show than almost anything else, you know you have a huge hit on your hands. Lastly, ABC repeated the premiere of Disney XD’s Star Wars: Rebels on Sunday night (remember that Disney owns ABC . . . and will probably own you pretty soon) and that pulled a 0.6 rating with 2.4 million total viewers. Those were very close to the same numbers that one pulled when it first aired on the Disney Channel in late September.
Following are the full ratings results (metric definitions below) for the Friday thru Monday shows with my comments. And keep an eye on the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for the latest numbers and any breaking news. For more information on where I get these numbers and how I make my Cancellation Alert assessments, check out the Cancelled Sci Fi FAQ.
Haven Syfy Fri 10/24 7 PM
Rating: 0.2 | Tot Viewers (MM): 0.8 | StD Rating: 0.2 | Target: 0.4 | Cancellation Alert: Medium
Back down again for this one. Unless Syfy is getting this show on the cheap, I can’t see it lasting beyond its fifth season (and it may not even get those full 26 episodes planned).
Grimm NBC Fri 10/24 9 PM
Rating: 1.4 | Tot Viewers (MM): 5.3 | StD Rating: 1.4 | Target: 1.2 | Cancellation Alert: Low
It debuts right at its season average from last year, but it should still serve as a decent enough schedule plug for Friday nights.
Constantine NBC Fri 10/24 10 PM
Rating: 1.4 | Tot Viewers (MM): 4.3 | StD Rating: 1.4 | Target: 1.2 | Cancellation Alert: Low
If it could hold at these numbers, then it would be okay. But a downward trend usually follows a premiere and this one doesn’t have too much wiggle room.
Z Nation Syfy Fri 10/24 10 PM
Rating: 0.4 | Tot Viewers (MM): 1.3 | StD Rating: 0.5 | Target: 0.4 | Cancellation Alert: Renewed
Expect this show to hold at around this level through the rest of its first season.
Once Upon A Time ABC Sun 10/26 8 PM
Rating: 2.4 | Tot Viewers (MM): 6.9 | StD Rating: 3.0 | Target: 1.8 | Cancellation Alert: Low
This one is still slipping, but it is currently the top rated drama on the broadcast nets on Sundays and it’s actually up a bit from where it was at this time last year.
Resurrection ABC Sun 10/26 9 PM
Rating: 1.2 | Tot Viewers (MM): 4.4 | StD Rating: 1.7 | Target: 2.0 | Cancellation Alert: Medium
It’s at cancellation levels now, but I will give it a little leeway to see if it can rebound. I’m not counting on that, though.
The Walking Dead AMC Sun 10/26 9 PM
Rating: 7.0 | Tot Viewers (MM): 13.8 | StD Rating: 7.8 | Target: 2.0 | Cancellation Alert: Renewed
Another week, another ratings victory, even if its numbers have slipped from its record-setting season premiere.
The Originals CW Mon 10/27 8 PM
Rating: 0.6 | Tot Viewers (MM): 1.3 | StD Rating: 0.7 | Target: 0.7 | Cancellation Alert: Low
(Numbers based on the preliminaries) That 0.6 score may look low, but The CW will be happy to take that on a Monday night.
Gotham FOX Mon 10/27 8 PM
Rating: 2.2 | Tot Viewers (MM): 5.8 | StD Rating: 2.6 | Target: 2.0 | Cancellation Alert: Low
(Numbers based on the preliminaries) It slipped again, but only one tick off from last week. Is this one finally leveling out?
Sleepy Hollow FOX Mon 10/27 9 PM
Rating: 1.6 | Tot Viewers (MM): 4.7 | StD Rating: 1.8 | Target: 2.0 | Cancellation Alert: Low
(Numbers based on the preliminaries) That 1.6 score looks low, but it’s not too bad for FOX these days. This show is still holding in there.
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Metric Definitions:
Rating: Overnight rating in the 18-49 demographic for same day viewing based on the final numbers unless otherwise noted
Tot Viewers: Estimated total viewers to tune in to the episode for same day viewing
StD Rating: Season to date average for the rating metric tracked above.
Target: The estimated average rating that the show needs to sustain to get renewed.
Cancellation Alert: My prediction of the likelihood that a show will get cancelled. From least to most likely the statuses are Low, Moderate, Medium, Elevated, and High.
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Ratings Source: TV by the Numbers and ShowBuzzDaily
Nielsen TV Ratings: ©2014 The Nielsen Company. All Rights Reserved.
The CW wasn’t happy to see the.5 rating that The Tomorrow People fell to when they moved it to Monday night. Right now Star-Crossed, also assassinated on Monday is outscoring its replacement six months after cancellation.
Revolution fans as well as Star-Crossed and Tomorrow People fans are still trying desperately to get their shows back. Perhaps with all the entertainment choices we have these days, networks should build on loyal, established audiences rather than just kill everything. Fans are willing to work to advertise their shows and to find new viewers for them. Networks need to invest in people and people will invest in sponsoring products!