via press release:
SYFY’s Stargate Universe REACHES NEW SERIES HIGH WITH LIVE +7 DATA
Episode Two Audience Grows To Three Million Total Viewers and Continues as Most Watched Stargate In More Than Four Years
New York, NY – October 26, 2009 – The second episode of Syfy’s Stargate Universe on Friday, October 9, reflecting full Live +7 DVR data, became the most watched Stargate since March 2005 when its reached three million total viewers (2.99 million), along with a 2.1 HH Rating, 1.7 million Adults 18-49 and 1.85 million Adults 25-54.
Among Adults 25-54, it is the best performance for the franchise since July 2005 and is the best performance for a Stargate telecast in Adults 18-49 since July 2004. The episode also drew the most total viewers for any Stargate since March 2005.
Edgier and younger in tone, SGU takes the franchise in a dynamic new direction, appealing to longtime Stargate fans and first-time viewers alike. The series stars Robert Carlyle, Ming-Na, Lou Diamond Phillips, Alaina Huffman, Louis Ferreira, Elyse Levesque, David Blue, Jamil Walker Smith and Brian J. Smith.
SGU follows a band of soldiers, scientists and civilians, who must fend for themselves as they are forced through a Stargate when their hidden base comes under attack. The desperate survivors emerge aboard an ancient ship, which is locked on an unknown course and unable to return to Earth. Faced with meeting the most basic needs of food, water and air, the group must unlock the secrets of the ship’s Stargate to survive. The danger, adventure and hope they find on board the Destiny will reveal the heroes and villains among them
Robert Cooper and Brad Wright, of Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis, serve as executive producers and writers. Stargate Universe is distributed by MGM Worldwide Television Distribution.
Syfy is a media destination for imagination-based entertainment. With year round acclaimed original series, events, blockbuster movies, classic science fiction and fantasy programming, a dynamic Web site (www.Syfy.com), and a portfolio of adjacent business (Syfy Ventures), Syfy is a passport to limitless possibilities. Originally launched in 1992 as SCI FI Channel, and currently in 95 million homes, Syfy is a network of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies. (Syfy. Imagine greater.)
About Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., through its operating subsidiaries is actively engaged in the worldwide production and distribution of motion pictures, television programming, home video, interactive media, music, and licensed merchandise. The company owns the world’s largest library of modern films, comprising around 4,100 titles. Operating units including Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc., United Artists Films Inc., Ventanazul, MGM Television Entertainment Inc., MGM Networks Inc., MGM Distribution Co., MGM International Television Distribution Inc., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home Entertainment LLC, MGM ON STAGE, MGM Music, MGM Consumer Products and MGM Interactive. In addition, MGM has ownership interests in international TV channels reaching approximately 120 countries and territories around the world. MGM ownership is currently as follows: Providence Equity Partners (29%), Texas Pacific Group (21%), Sony Corporation of America (20%), Comcast (20%), DLJ Merchant Banking Partners (7%) and Quadrangle Group (3%). For more information, visit www.mgmchannel.com
Wooooaaaaooo!!! They are spinning these numbers so much I’m dizzy. So, I guess things are pretty bad when after the 5th episode aired this past Friday, they are still talking about episode 2. Obviously things ain’t that grand in the Stargate Universe.
Morena, that’s because due to the delay by Nielsen in producing the Live+7 data the Live+7 data for the 10/9 episode was not available until TODAY!
10/16 will be available a week from today, and 10/23, Friday’s episode, two weeks from today.
Whether they’ll still be issuing press releases for it by then remains to be seen, but today’s release is purely related to the release/availability of the data, and not Syfy deliberately spinning results from 2 weeks ago.
Uh – and did I mention that this show is REALLY BAD!!!
@Morena
“Uh – and did I mention that this show is REALLY BAD!!!”
Oh boy…I smell another Atlantis apologist.
SGU is considerably better than Atlantis, and even though it has growing pains, has a more progressive story, with a truly awesome actor (Robert Carlyle) with a lot more reason to make me feel like tuning in each week…and not another A.D.D “alien of the week” explosion a second show.
This is good news, and I am in for the long haul.
Hey Morena,
Different Strokes for Different Folks!
I was a huge Atlantis fan. The show was pulling in good numbers, over 2.1 Million viewers. I have moved on, and am loving SGU.
My point, not everyone is an Anti because of what happened to SGA. I was pissed because we never got a straight answer. Technically it was replaced by the producers to make room for SGU. They will never admit that and whats the point to argue the show will never come back except for the DVD movies.
Atlantis lost its right to exist when Wier and Becket were killed off. Oh, and when they started recycling old SG1 scripts.
It became the “most watched Stargate since March 2005″? What Stargate are they comparing it to and which season premier? SG1 or SGA?
I’m not an apologist for any of the SG shows but they really are spinning these numbers a bit. It’s the best in adults 25-54 since July 2005 and 18-49 July 2004? It’s spinning when one compares a series premier to a season premier but they’re doing it well. Not quite the DVR numbers of a Warehouse 13 or Eureka but I’m sure they’re happy.
Hey, if SyFy/ MGM is happy, who am I to complain that, while the acting is great and the stories are awesome, even *I* could have edited and shot the show better?
I’m happy for the great numbers, really I am. Maybe next season they’ll learn that they don’t need to shake the camera all around to portray what they want.
Robert, where’s the 7 day from the premier? Did I totally miss the 10/3 data?
Cimmer, I never saw a release for DVR#s for the premiere. I’ll see what I can find out.
Cimmer/all, the second episode actually had more viewers. Here are the live+7 numbers for the premiere:
2.0 HH rating
2,779,000 P2+
1,419,000 P18-49s
1,610,000 P25-54s
Thanks Robert.
@Tempest of News – “SGU is considerably better than Atlantis”
Okay, this is where I smell a disconnect with reality.
Atlantis was much better than SGU will ever be. Atlantis wasn’t even at its best in its last couple of seasons, and it was still better than SGU is now. SGU may have you for the long haul, but they definitely don’t have me.
@Robert Seidman – I appreciate you posting the numbers. But, didn’t the 10/16 numbers have a significant drop? From what I saw, it was about a 360,000 viewer drop. Not so good.
Morena, seems like that drop instead was a result of a group of people who decided to DVR the show, probably because it’s Friday night and they wanted to go out. It’s total audience is really it’s Live + 7 numbers. The second week’s numbers with Live + 7 indicate the audience is growing as time passes. If this continues, SGU will definitely be around for awhile.
TVBTN guys, it seems like SyFy is having a pretty good year since its name change. Warehouse 13 seems like a cable hit and now SGU is performing better than previous entries. Can’t wait until Caprica arrives.
@The_GodfatherSJP – I will wait on confirmation of the 10/16 DVR numbers to see if this is in fact true. So far, what you are saying sounds like conjecture.
From The Programming Insider:
Friday 10/16/09
Stargate Universe
- 2.099 million viewers
- 1.3/2 HH
- 0.9/3 A18-49
http://pifeedback.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/63310451/m/162108842/p/4
Friday 10/23/09
Stargate Universe
- 2.015 million viewers
- 1.3/2 HH
- 0.8/3 A18-49
http://pifeedback.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/63310451/m/486104052/p/5
I have to respectfully disagree with Morena. As much as I loved Atlantis, it jumped the shark a good two years before it got cancelled. I miss the (original) SGA characters like crazy, but it’s time for something new.
SGU is so different from Atlantis, and I’m loving it…As with the other Stargate casts, this cast is invested in the show, but the writers are also invested this time, and it shows as the writing is for the most part, far superior.
Long live SGU!
Also, the better SGU does, the more likely it’ll be that the SG1 and SGA DVD movies get made!
@Morena
“Okay, this is where I smell a disconnect with reality. ”
Oh shut up morena, taste is different. To me SGA was fairly superficial run on the mill. It shouldn’t be that hard to outpace it.
Of course its mostly the same people behind the cameras (they appear never to fire the staff, only promote them), so they are struggling a bit. But apart from the incessant and unnecessary sex stuff i think it shows potential.
@The_GodfatherSJP:
“Can’t wait until Caprica arrives.”
And gets canceled after 5 episodes
Of course there is no accounting for taste, but I think they seriously need to step up their game on Caprica based on that pilot.
Btw, Robert are you contractually obliged to print the rubbish parts of their press releases? Things like
“Edgier and younger in tone” and “dynamic new direction” etc – seems like a CUT! it called for as soon as they have mentioned the numbers *g*
@sueKay – I understand your sentiments. And I am happy that you are happy with SGU. While I cannot argue with the fact that the writers and producers ran Atlantis kind of in to the ground for its last couple of years, I don’t see better writing on SGU. Not at all.
I also have heard from some of the Atlantis actors that the Atlantis movie will not be made. It would be nice if they are mistaken, but I don’t think so. I agree with you that the people in charge are very invested in SGU, and I think that’s how it’s gonna stay.