Comments on: Broadcast ratings: American Idol wins again, Fringe is 18-49 hit

By: Daniel

Daniel — Mon, 04 May 2009 02:19:06 +0000

Fringe is very entertaining and a lot of fun to watch. There, I said it.

By: Patrick O

Patrick O — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 14:06:31 +0000

Based on what I can gather with a quick search (here and elsewhere), Fringe’s 9:30 numbers seem pretty stable. It’s inevitable that they’re going to lose viewers from Idol (given the obvious differences in appeal between the two), but they seem to be holding steady and solidly performing against the second hour of Biggest Loser (which I’d assume is what a lot of Idol viewers are tuning into at 9). Maybe I’m assuming too much based on the 9:30 ratings, but it seems to me that Fringe has been on long enough that viewers know what they’re getting and the show has a solid fanbase (whether it’s people watching Fringe after Idol or people tuning in for Fringe).

And honestly, why take Fringe away from a good lead-in? It’s working for Fox and I don’t see a pressing need to move it away from Idol or House next season.

By: Richard Steven Hack

Richard Steven Hack — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 08:19:29 +0000

We’ve had this discussion before.

It’s a “hit” as long as the people who lead-in don’t dislike enough to turn it off and thus drop its ratings. It’s that simple. And even if they did, again, it still would survive on its own, probably with five or six million viewers and a 3.0 demo.

Don’t get hung up on the “hit” word. All it means is that the show isn’t a “miss.”

By: cdn

cdn — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 08:15:17 +0000

It’s too early to call Fringe a hit. It has never shown that it can get those ratings on its own. The one time it was asked to stand on its own two feet, it got 3.2 in the demo (that was for its premiere). Since then, it’s been benefiting from House and American Idol lead-ins. Perhaps that exposure is helping it earn more loyal viewers. But we all know what happened to Samantha Who and Lie To Me when their lead-ins were taken away….

By: saint

saint — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 04:15:02 +0000

I guess people assume, the lead in will make any show successful.
Look at Eleventh Hour, the same show as Fringe.
CSI hasn’t made it a hit.

By: Shea

Shea — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 03:29:07 +0000

Why does everyone think that Fringe is only a hit with American Idol? It got IDENTICAL ratings in the fall when it was paired with house. Fringe has a loyal audience and casual viewers on’t really find Fringe that easy to pick up and I understand that.

By: thedemonhog

thedemonhog — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 01:43:07 +0000

Yeah, ‘Lost’ clip-show coming in at #25 in the demo.

By: Joshua Jackson Network • fringe, one week, dawson’s creek, shutter, pictures, news, videos » Blog Archive » Fringe Season Finale Stills and ratings!

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 00:08:21 +0000

[...] lot of people have speculated if Fringe is really a bonafide. Well, according to TVbytheNumbers, the show is doing remarkably well by placing #7 for audiences in the 18-49 year range and #18 [...]

By: the128boy

the128boy — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 23:55:41 +0000

Slow week in the demo. 3.1 makes the list for the first time since the holidays?

By: Patrick O

Patrick O — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 23:46:05 +0000

“How is lost the No. 1 new show in adults 18-49? Isn’t The Mentalist beating it by a lot? I really like Fringe, but having to choose between the two, the mentalist is way better. and it’s ratings are a lot better, too.”

You answered your own question – The Mentalist is the #1 new show overall but Fringe is the #1 new show in the demographic. I would actually be curious to see where The Mentalist places in 18-49.

By: miranda

miranda — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 23:23:32 +0000

Gee. Now i see why Two and a half men got a multi series order on renewal. a 3.9 on a repeat? bloody hell. I find the show amusing, but i’ve never gone out of my way to watch it.

By: AznPhatJax

AznPhatJax — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 23:06:33 +0000

ThePattern: Even TV Week is declaring Fringe a hit!
Freshman performance: Focusing its fall promotional firepower on “Fringe” paid off for Fox. The sci-fi-tinged drama from J.J. Abrams is one of the season’s few hits, currently ranking as the No. 1 new show in adults 18-49.

How is lost the No. 1 new show in adults 18-49? Isn’t The Mentalist beating it by a lot? I really like Fringe, but having to choose between the two, the mentalist is way better. and it’s ratings are a lot better, too.

By: Nick

Nick — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 21:36:54 +0000

Fringe has really grown on me, and it’s gotten a lot better than it was when it first started out. I’m really hoping that Fringe keeps some good ratings next season without American Idol as a lead in.

By: JVO

JVO — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 20:21:48 +0000

I never noticed what great retention Rules of Engagement has after Two and a Half Men. CBS really needs to give that show a full season even though quality wise it is a bit on the low end.

I’m curious to see how Fringe would do when it’s not being fed viewers by House or American Idol. Maybe Fox will put it on Thursdays after Bones or something next year. I would guess its core demos would still be strong enough to call it a cult hit, or would this move be too risky?

By: Josh f

Josh f — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 20:12:02 +0000

I’m glad desperate housewives is still going steady, though I would have liked this season to average 15 million per episode this season. And then 13 million maybe next year.but hey this season has been good, and the same goes for grey anatomy I guess.

By: Alex

Alex — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:58:13 +0000

Pattern Lost was a clip show last week.

By: ThePattern

ThePattern — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:56:31 +0000

I’m surprised that Lost wasn’t on either list however.

By: ThePattern

ThePattern — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:51:18 +0000

http://www.tvweek.com/news/2009/04/grading_the_networks.php
Even TV Week is declaring Fringe a hit!
Freshman performance: Focusing its fall promotional firepower on “Fringe” paid off for Fox. The sci-fi-tinged drama from J.J. Abrams is one of the season’s few hits, currently ranking as the No. 1 new show in adults 18-49.

By: ThePattern

ThePattern — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:49:40 +0000

Fringe is more like X Files in terms of ratings. For the 1st 3 years, it was never a massive hit. Now, true Fox put Fringe in front of AI, but remember CBS put Harper’s Island on after CSI and that didn’t matter, the audience numbers still significantly eroded in the 2nd week. Sometimes lead-ins don’t work. If it had 7 million and a high demo, Fox would still keep Fringe around because of the ratings in the demos.

By: cool

cool — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:48:22 +0000

well Heroes is a bad comparison

By: Bad Robot !

Bad Robot ! — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:36:00 +0000

Fringe has gotten better now that we know what the show is about and where its headed. I didnt like it much when it started, but it sort of grows on you… like one of Walter Bishop’s fungus experiments. Now that someone figured out what all those glyphs are (each one is a letter forming a word) once the season is over Im guessing the words form one or more sentences. Jericho did a similar thing with the morse code gimmick. Fringe will never be a runaway hit with 15-20 million viewers, but if it holds around 10 million and keeps a high key demo, it will be around as long as LOST or HEROES.

By: Robert Seidman

Robert Seidman — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:32:16 +0000

Daniel, NBC was only back on the board because I listed the 18-49 rankings first, the peacocks were still absent from the total viewing rankings.

By: Jeffster's Fan

Jeffster's Fan — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:29:22 +0000

So it had nothing to do with american idol for me!!!

By: Jeffster's Fan

Jeffster's Fan — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:28:44 +0000

I like Fringe. I discovered it when iTunes had it for $0.99 an episode during the winter break.

By: cool

cool — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:20:57 +0000

Well, airing after House AND American Idol, it SHOULD be a hit.

By: clutz

clutz — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:18:58 +0000

Fox is correct in declaring Fringe the “#1 new series among 18-49.” And the CBS “skewing older” factor is quite noticeable with this consolidated report.

By: Daniel

Daniel — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:14:19 +0000

Wow, NBC is back on the board! I wonder if they’ll stay…

By: Robert Seidman

Robert Seidman — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:13:28 +0000

Hoy, House isn’t in either of the tables above and did not air on FOX at all last week.

By: hoy

hoy — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:10:12 +0000

House is a repeat

By: Derek

Derek — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:05:55 +0000

Reality tv… grrrr

By: Shane

Shane — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 18:53:18 +0000

Fringe-haters huh? Well, I guess every show has them. Most of my friends seem to be Chuck-haters, and I love that show. I love both shows.
For me, television is mostly about Chuck, Fringe, and NCIS. Sprinkle in several others that interest me, but those are my big three.

By: Casey Abell

Casey Abell — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 18:46:08 +0000

Gee, I’m glad I moved out of the 18-49 demo a while back. I feel liberated from all those teevee execs running after me (wink).