Hung ended its first season Sunday night with an average 2.9 million watching at 10pm. But the new math for HBO is proclaiming it as the most-watched freshman series in HBO history. Because when replays, DVR and On-Demand are factored in, it's closer to 9 million viewers.
Back when The Sopranos was starting for HBO, Bill and I were about the only people with DVRs. And I'm pretty sure Nielsen didn't count the replays then.
Even with the new math, sophomore hit True Blood is still behind the Sopranos, averaging around 12 million viewers a week between replays, DVRs and On Demand.
Even in its initial viewing though Sunday's season finale average of 5.114 million was slightly off its record pace of 5.332 million for the 10pm airing on 8/24, it was still 100% better than the initial airing of season one's finale that averaged around 2.5 million.
Pease don't take this as me getting on HBO for its accounting. HBO is having a good year, and its best year in at least a few years. Especially since it's not selling commercial time, I don't fault it for counting and marketing the replays, DVR viewing and On-Demand. It just makes some of the historical comparisons a bit tricky.
Hah, thanks to True Blood, Seriously I gave Hung a chance, but it was sooooooooo Boring. True Blood is SO amazing and Hung and entourage better be worshipping it. Vote for True Blood at the emmy’s here:
http://www.tv.com/breakthrough/?tag=specialfeature;2
how long til the True Blood fans come on here saying how the success is only because it comes on the same night as True Blood
i guess i just wasn’t quick enough… question answered.
Hung and Entourage’s ratings were only good because of Truye Blood, I’ll have to admit that. So by default that makes Hung HBO’s highest rated freshman series. I wonder how the Sopranos did back in 1999. And Robert did DVR’s even exist back then??
Entourage was doing fine without True Blood in its first few seasons. Sure it declined, but it doesnt need True Blood.
The lineup next summer is likely to be the same
9:00 True Blood
10:00 Hung
10:30 Entourage
I can’t seem to fit my head around why this site — and others like it — tend to sweep under the rug replays, DVRs, online streams, On Demand and the like, as if they don’t — or better yet, shouldn’t — exist. We’re living in a time where viewers have multiple avenues in which to view new content. It quite frankly seems rather elementary to ignore these figures as if they don’t matter, because I think they do. I for one love television and movies, yet don’t have a cable subscription because I find it to be a waste of money when you can easily find just about anything you’re looking for online. Simply because I don’t watch True Blood, for example, on Sunday nights with the rest of original run viewers doesn’t mean I shouldn’t count as a viewer. Especially for a net like HBO, which doesn’t rely on advertising to keep it afloat.
Knope, for HBO the situation is different since they don’t sell advertising and anyway people watch their shows is effectively the same. All they care about is keeping people subscribed.
For advertiser supported TV, all viewing is *not* created equal. Online streaming carries few commercials and produces little revenue. DVR viewing skips most if not all commercials. OnDemand carries few commercials and is almost a rounding error in TV viewing.
We don’t “sweep them under a rug”, but since they don’t generate any real revenue, they don’t matter in the economic success of a show.
So I guess ratings for HBO just means that 5 million of their subscribers are watching True Blood, so hopefully it will lead to more people ordering HBO. While numbers don’t technically matter, HBO is still happy that the success of True Blood is leading to more subscribers.
I have an additional issue besides what Bill lists, Knope, at least with On Demand and online viewing. At least with original airings, repeat airings and DVR viewing, we know exactly what is being measured for the average audience counts (total minutes of viewing divided by a show’s duration). The calculations are the same for all shows and in most cases apples-to-apples comparisons are easy (provided you compare Live+SD to Live+SD and Live+7 to Live+7).
I don’t know how On Demand viewing is counted, and I’ve never seen any Nielsen reporting of it. Online is even worse currently. Networks will often self report # of streams, but this is very, very different than the average audience measurements by Nielsen. If you watch 10 minutes of a 60 minute show, you are counted as .167 of a user. But if you watch 10 seconds of a video stream or 42 minutes of it, you count as “1″. So comparing the two sets of numbers currently is very different. With the TV numbers you know exactly what the total engagement is. With the online numbers you do not. I suspect sooner or later that will change, but it’s probably at least a few years off.
Hung is funny and entaining. I’ll watch next season
Back when The Sopranos was starting for HBO, Bill and I were about the only people with DVRs. And I’m pretty sure Nielsen didn’t count the replays then.
I thought there was a big controversy with Nielsen reporting several showings as one rating back when Soporanos was on.
not exactly. If the Sopranos was on at 10p on the main HBO, they counted whatever was airing on the multiplexed HBOs, even though that wasn’t actually the Sopranos. I think counting the rebroadcasts now probably has a bigger effect than counting what was being watched on HBO Family, etc at the same time the Sopranos aired.
True Blood looks like it could grow further, but quite a ways to get numbers like the Sopranos.
Entourage, going on season 7, has likely peaked. Hope they return to “business in Hollywood” stories. Vince’s freetime this season has sucked the energy out of the show.
Hung’s numbers stayed fairly consistent all season. Lots of introspective brooding on this show. Audiences these days may not find that appealing. Not sure the viewership will increase.
But, as has ben mentioned before, HBO needs to increase subscribers not necessarily viewers.
Got it. Yeah, definitely comparing apples to oranges.
Hung is so good show.I like to watch this first season.but second season of True blood was so psychotic.I can´t stand it.I hope for a better 3rd season.
If it is #1 then it won’t be for long as next year HBO premiers what is certain to be the channel’s next signature series, “A Game of Thrones” adapted from the hugely acclaimed novel. Starring Sean Bean, Peter Dinklage, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Lena Headey, the pilot begins filming in Ireland next month.
(The above assumes that the series will actually be picked up, but I have no doubt that it will be as HBO is sinking a ton of money into it, the cast is amazing and the source material is un-frickin-believable!)
I stuck with hung this season because I’m a Thomas Jane fan. I have to say though it felt so mediochre. And for the series finale this past sunday it didn’t leave you excited for the next season. It feels like the writers are writing it with only half the effort. Maybe since it did well anyway they’ll try a bit harder next season.
Maybe the writers didn’t know if the series would end and wrote is as more like a series finale. However it is renewed so well get to see more of Ray and his prostitution next year.
It is just me or was true blood much better last season?