Following are explanations of various terms used throughout this site:
Sci Fi TV Ratings Definitions:
These are the stats tracked on the Sci Fi TV Ratings Page.
Rating: Overnight rating in the 18-49 demographic for same day viewing based on the final numbers unless otherwise noted
% Chng PW: The percentage change +/- for this week’s rating vs. last week’s rating.
Tot Viewers: Estimated total viewers (age 2+) to tune in to the episode for same day viewing.
StD Rating: Season to date average for the rating metric tracked above.
Benchmark: For the broadcast networks, this is the net’s season to date average rating based on the overnights for the 18-49 demographic for non-sports, non-special, non-repeat broadcasts. For the cable channels, this is the lowest level at which a show is typically renewed by that network if there are enough genre entries on that channel to provide a decent sample. But note that with cable entries intangibles such as international and/or streaming partnerships can play an important factor in a shows survival and that is not measured here.
Status: My assessment of the likelihood that a show will get renewed or cancelled. The statuses are Renewal Likely, Renewal Possible, On the Bubble, Cancellation Likely (plus Renewed and Cancelled/Ended)
Season To Date Ratings Metric Definitions:
These numbers (when available) are posted on the pages for each show (see the list of series pages at this link)
StD: Season to Date
Live + SD Rating: The overnight ratings in the 18-49 demographic for the live broadcast of a show or any delayed viewings that occurred that Same Day.
StD Avg: Season to date average of the Live + SD rating above.
Tot Vwrs: Total viewers (age 2 and up) that watched the broadcast live or on DVR the same day.
Live + 7 Rating: The rating in the 18-49 demographic based on the live broadcast and delayed viewing up to seven days later.
Status: My assessment of the likelihood that a show will get renewed or cancelled. The statuses are Renewal Likely, Renewal Possible, On the Bubble, Cancellation Likely (plus Renewed and Cancelled/Ended)
(R): Repeat episode
These are the metrics tracked in the weekly Scorecard which ranks shows compare to how similar shows on the same network are performing.
Rank (PW): Current rank based on the variance of a show’s season to date ratings average vs. its network’s benchmark (see definition below). The number in parenthesis is the prior week’s rank. Note that shows on the streaming services are not included because of insufficient viewership data and foreign imports like Doctor Who will not be included because they rely more heavily on their viewership in their home countries.
Series: (O) indicates the show is owned or co-owned by the network and/or a sister studio. (F) indicates the show airs on Friday when ratings expectations are lower on the broadcast networks.
StD Avg: The show’s season to date ratings average based on the overnights for the 18-49 demographic.
Net Bench: (Network Benchmark) For the broadcast networks, this is the net’s season to date average rating based on the overnights for the 18-49 demographic for non-sports, non-special, non-repeat broadcasts. For the cable channels, this is the lowest level at which a show is typically renewed by that network if there are enough genre entries on that channel to provide a decent sample. But note that with cable entries intangibles such as international and/or streaming partnerships can play an important factor in a shows survival and that is not measured here.
% Var: The percent variance between a show’s season to date average and the network benchmark as defined above. The higher the variance, the better a show is performing vs. the benchmark.
Live+7 Avg Rtg: The show’s season to date ratings average based on delayed viewing up to three days past the live broadcast. This data is not available for all shows.
Status: My assessment of the likelihood that a show will get renewed or cancelled. The statuses are Renewal Likely, Renewal Possible, On the Bubble, Cancellation Likely (plus Renewed and Cancelled/Ended)
Curious Onlooker Effect: This refers to shows that draw a notable amount of viewers for their premiere, but then see the numbers take a significant drop afterwards. It tends to happen when a series is based on a well-known property or has gone through some significant changes from its prior season. Over the past few years, comic book based shows such as Agents of SHIELD, Supergirl, and Krypton have seen notable drops after their premiere episodes. FX’s season-long anthology American Horror Story sees this almost yearly since viewers tune in to check out the new storyline, but tend to lose interest after the premiere.
Syndication Stretch (or Third Season Rule): Once a series has survived a full season of twenty two episodes, then the network starts to eye a possible syndication run which is where big profits can be made. However, the conventional thinking these days is that a show has to have at least 88 episodes (four full seasons), if not a hundred or more, to make an attractive syndication package. That allows the show to run Monday through Friday for four months or more without repeating itself. So the closer that a show gets to that magic 88 episode number, the better the chances that a network will keep it going despite low numbers. If a show’s numbers start to tank during its second season, there’s a much better chance that it will get axed, because by season end it will only be halfway to that 88 number. However, the recent thinking is (championed especially by the guys at TV by the Numbers) that if a series gets picked up for a third season then that means the network and the show’s studio are pretty much ready to rubber-stamp a fourth season because by the end of the third year they are much closer to having an attractive syndication package to offer. Note that this applies mostly just to broadcast network shows because the cable entries tend to have lower episode counts for their seasons. However, the closer a cable show gets to that 88 episode threshold, the more likely it is to get a renewal for its current season.
