Yep, the Super Bowl and American Idol, neither of which were affected by the strike.

I don’t know what Moonlight would have done. I don’t know if it would have beaten Dateline. However, as I stated before Moonlight’s re-runs were far more consistent than repeats of other shows. Also with less competition and poorer lead ins than prior dates when repeats aired there was the possibility of a ratings increase. The closest CBS has come to beating Dateline was May 23rd when most listings still had a repeat of ‘B.C’ listed rather than a repeat of Ghost Whisperer. Since then the margin between NBC and CBS for those two shows had increase significantly. Like I said, I can’t say how Moonlight would have done but neither can anyone else. There are two many confounding variables in there. Especially considering the fact that Moonlight seemed to get a bit of a bump in its audience, especially for repeats, after it aired episodes 11, Love Lasts Forever, and 12, The Mortal Cure.

There does seem to be something odd about the 9 pm time slot. In that slot both Ghost Whisperer and The Price is Right lost viewers from the lead it and those viewers came back for Numbe3rs. Numb3rs beats Dateline it its own time slot during the summer except for the one time it is in the 9 pm slot and then it loses. Ghost Whisperer can win its time slot but not the 9 pm time slot.

Will canceling one show doom CBS? No. But Moonlight is just one of a growing list of shows that had a lot of passionate fan support that CBS has canceled. The more devoted a fan the more likely it is they will stop watching a network. And eventually those numbers start to add up. Especially given the numerous alternatives to watching network television. Networks don’t seem to want to admit that things are changing and that business as usual isn’t working. All the networks are losing viewers and I think the lack of support for developing shows is a part of it. None of CBS’s 2007 freshman dramas are coming back for 2008. Either they really stink at picking new shows (which suggests that you don’t cancel a show that wins its time slot) or they aren’t doing what they need to in order to make a new show a success. You can’t expect all of them to succeed but you would think at least one would be worth a second season. Neither of those situations bodes well for CBS. Right now, I more concerned with trying to get a new home for ‘Moonlight’ than caring about what happens to CBS. But I’m not going to get upset if their new fall shows fail miserably next year. All I know is that aside from the finale of Moonlight I haven’t watched CBS in about a month. Don’t miss it and based on what I’ve seen of their new shows there will be no temptation to watch come fall.

I don’t know what Moonlight would have done. I don’t know if it would have beaten Dateline. However, as I stated before Moonlight’s re-runs were far more consistent than repeats of other shows. Also with less competition and poorer lead ins than prior dates when repeats aired there was the possibility of a ratings increase. The closest CBS has come to beating Dateline was May 23rd when most listings still had a repeat of ‘B.C’ listed rather than a repeat of Ghost Whisperer. Since then the margin between NBC and CBS for those two shows had increase significantly. Like I said, I can’t say how Moonlight would have done but neither can anyone else. There are two many confounding variables in there. Especially considering the fact that Moonlight seemed to get a bit of a bump in its audience, especially for repeats, after it aired episodes 11, Love Lasts Forever, and 12, The Mortal Cure.

There does seem to be something odd about the 9 pm time slot. In that slot both Ghost Whisperer and The Price is Right lost viewers from the lead it and those viewers came back for Numbe3rs. Numb3rs beats Dateline it its own time slot during the summer except for the one time it is in the 9 pm slot and then it loses. Ghost Whisperer can win its time slot but not the 9 pm time slot.

Will canceling one show doom CBS? No. But Moonlight is just one of a growing list of shows that had a lot of passionate fan support that CBS has canceled. The more devoted a fan the more likely it is they will stop watching a network. And eventually those numbers start to add up. Especially given the numerous alternatives to watching network television. Networks don’t seem to want to admit that things are changing and that business as usual isn’t working. All the networks are losing viewers and I think the lack of support for developing shows is a part of it. None of CBS’s 2007 freshman dramas are coming back for 2008. Either they really stink at picking new shows (which suggests that you don’t cancel a show that wins its time slot) or they aren’t doing what they need to in order to make a new show a success. You can’t expect all of them to succeed but you would think at least one would be worth a second season. Neither of those situations bodes well for CBS. Right now, I more concerned with trying to get a new home for ‘Moonlight’ than caring about what happens to CBS. But I’m not going to get upset if their new fall shows fail miserably next year. All I know is that aside from the finale of Moonlight I haven’t watched CBS in about a month. Don’t miss it and based on what I’ve seen of their new shows there will be no temptation to watch come fall.

Gwen,

Moonlight lost viewers from Ghost Whisperer in EVERY single one of the 22 airings that ML followed GW, loosing an average of 1.46 million viewers. It lost in the demo in all but 2 of those airings (beating it by .1 in the premiere and tying it once), loosing an average of .3. Reruns only, it lost in EVERY one of the 5 times they both had reruns, loosing an average of 1.4 million viewers and .3 in the demo. Of the three times a Moonlight rerun went against Dateline, it lost ALL THREE TIMES.

In order for Moonlight to have beaten Dateline, it would have had to IMPROVE on its lead-in in viewers (something it has NEVER done at all) by more than 1 million viewers and improve by .6 in the demo (MATCHING the demo for the finale).

You liked the show and you’re pissed it was canceled. We get that. It sucks when a show you like gets canceled, but there is absolutely no evidence to support your claim that a rerun of Moonlight could have beaten a new Dateline. Insisting that it would or that CBS is going to collapse because it canceled one of its lowest rated shows doesn’t reflect badly on CBS, it reflects badly on Moonlight fans.

I can’t say for certain what Moonlight would have done but it’s re-runs were fairly consistent after the holiday time repeats. They basically were between 5.3 and 5.7 million viewers. I don’t know what the sample error for Nielsen but I would bet that would be within the statistical confidence interval. And that was typically facing strong competition, such as House repeats, or multiple new scripted programs (such as both Dateline and Canterbury’s Law). Add in the fact that based on my experience people will use summer re-runs to sample new shows they missed, there is some theoretical evidence that Moonlight’s re-runs would have stayed consistent or increased.

We can’t know what would have happened. But what I find extremely interesting is that nothing seems to work well in the 9:00 pm slot this season. When Ghost Whisperer followed The Price is Right on Fridays it lost viewers which came back for Numb3rs. When the Price is Right followed Ghost Whisperer on Friday Nights it lost viewers that came back for Numb3rs. Ghost Whisperer and Numb3rs can win their time slots except when they were in the 9 pm slot, then they lose. I hesitate to draw any firm conclusions since this is summer and it is a limited time frame. Plus I know my own bias is likely affecting my interpretation, but this is a phenomena that I think deserves some interest.

And Ben, thank you for the very kind words. As someone who is passionate about a TV show for the first time it is nice to not be dismissed as a crazy. In my mind any show that can make me forget my sister’s health problems (including a couple ER visits and a hospitalization), a grandmother with an 80% blocked carotid artery that took four months to get fixed via surgery due to other health problems and the pressures of trying to be a full time grad student while working 20 hours a week is a show that has some pretty compelling stories to tell. I would recommend checking Moonlight out. You can still find episodes up on surfthechannel.com among others and just bear in mind that the quality of the show really improved with episode 4 – ‘Fever’.

I can’t say for certain what Moonlight would have done but it’s re-runs were fairly consistent after the holiday time repeats. They basically were between 5.3 and 5.7 million viewers. I don’t know what the sample error for Nielsen but I would bet that would be within the statistical confidence interval. And that was typically facing strong competition, such as House repeats, or multiple new scripted programs (such as both Dateline and Canterbury’s Law). Add in the fact that based on my experience people will use summer re-runs to sample new shows they missed, there is some theoretical evidence that Moonlight’s re-runs would have stayed consistent or increased.

We can’t know what would have happened. But what I find extremely interesting is that nothing seems to work well in the 9:00 pm slot this season. When Ghost Whisperer followed The Price is Right on Fridays it lost viewers which came back for Numb3rs. When the Price is Right followed Ghost Whisperer on Friday Nights it lost viewers that came back for Numb3rs. Ghost Whisperer and Numb3rs can win their time slots except when they were in the 9 pm slot, then they lose. I hesitate to draw any firm conclusions since this is summer and it is a limited time frame. Plus I know my own bias is likely affecting my interpretation, but this is a phenomena that I think deserves some interest.

And Ben, thank you for the very kind words. As someone who is passionate about a TV show for the first time it is nice to not be dismissed as a crazy. In my mind any show that can make me forget my sister’s health problems (including a couple ER visits and a hospitalization), a grandmother with an 80% blocked carotid artery that took four months to get fixed via surgery due to other health problems and the pressures of trying to be a full time grad student while working 20 hours a week is a show that has some pretty compelling stories to tell. I would recommend checking Moonlight out. You can still find episodes up on surfthechannel.com among others and just bear in mind that the quality of the show really improved with episode 4 – ‘Fever’.

We have numbers for the last time a repeat of Moonlight aired against Dateline (and the time before that, etc). You could’ve looked at them yourself, first. I’m not taking any shots at passionate fans, but I will absolutely take shots at the pure hokum you and others are espousing when there *is* actual data.

http://tvbythenumbers.com/2008/04/19/nielsen-ratings-fri-april-18-friday-night-needs-american-idol/3410

We have numbers for the last time a repeat of Moonlight aired against Dateline (and the time before that, etc). You could’ve looked at them yourself, first. I’m not taking any shots at passionate fans, but I will absolutely take shots at the pure hokum you and others are espousing when there *is* actual data.

http://tvbythenumbers.com/2008/04/19/nielsen-ratings-fri-april-18-friday-night-needs-american-idol/3410

Your “analysis” is no better informed than the other people posting here. You guys just assert that Dateline would “cream” a Moonlight rerun just to take a shot at Moonlight’s passionate fans. If you were paying close attention to Moonlight, you would see that it was gaining greatly in momentum, especially in consideration of the bizarre circumstances of this season. To return after a 6 week hiatus (in the freshman year, no less!) without losing ANY fans is fantastic! As the show has swept other nations, (just finishing it’s last episode in the UK, continuing in Australia, etc), the international fan base has grown by leaps and bounds. Just take a look at the downloading activity on iTunes and Amazon Unboxed if you want proof of that. So “creamed”? I don’t think so. You two self-appointed authorities can take your snotty comments about being “creamed” and “ridiculous and crazy” analysis and stick them back in your officious pieholes, okay?

A PROUD Moonlight fan

I’m not only enjoying this latest spectacular failure, I simply can’t wait to observe the ratings for the EXcrement List.

Ben, Thank you so much for your kind words. I hope you do check out a couple episodes, you won’t be dissapointed. I suggest starting off with “Fever”.

Ben, Thank you so much for your kind words. I hope you do check out a couple episodes, you won’t be dissapointed. I suggest starting off with “Fever”.

Ben, Thank you so much for your kind words. I hope you do check out a couple episodes, you won’t be dissapointed. I suggest starting off with “Fever”.

Maybe, but not by much. Last year around this time, Numb3rs repeated on a Saturday with around 4 million viewers. Its summer Friday reruns were getting around 7 mill. Since Moonlight only averaged around 5 mill for in-slot, regular season reruns, it would have been hard-pressed to hit 3.5 on a Saturday in summer. While that would be marginally better than this movie did, CBS has a dozen shows that would get better ratings for a Saturday rerun.