Ratings Increase / Decrease: 2009-10 Season vs. 2008-9 Season
The CW's ratings averages are now well ahead of last season across the board, but they would be about 20% ahead of last season across the board if they'd just kept their Monday-Friday numbers steady because of the automatic boost to their ratings averages just by dumping Sunday nights. Compared to last season, the CW's Monday-Friday ratings averages are down, but don't be surprised if the CW's crack PR troops can pull one over on the credulous TV media.
Fox continues to be well ahead in all ratings demographic groups vs. last season. While they were certainly helped by a big improvement in the World Series numbers, they were ahead of last season's ratings before the baseball playoffs began.
With ABC down nearly as much as NBC this season, I'm still waiting to read about it in the TV press. Not really. NBC's the designated TV press whipping boy this season, ABC gets a free pass! CBS is still down in nearly every main demo, but compared to NBC and ABC they're broadcast ratings winners!
Season To Date Ratings
CBS again cut into Fox's season 18-49 demo ratings lead in the past week, but it looks like Fox will hang onto the lead for the next 3 weeks until American Idol and 24 arrive and the Fox annual spring ratings beatdowns resume, although the Winter Olympics will be an NBC wildcard this season.
Fox continues its big lead in adults 18-34 ratings. This season is shaping up to be a huge margin of victory for them in that demo. CBS continues to hold both the adults 25-54 rating title (which Fox may challenge depending on how Idol does), and the average viewership title, which is unlikely to be challenged.
You can see past week's broadcast network primetime season to date average TV ratings results here.
Each rating point is a percentage of the US TV population in that demographic group and equals: 2.90 million viewers, 1.32 million adults 18-49, 0.68 million adults 18-34 and 1.24 million adults 25-54.
Note that the chart includes RATINGS not VIEWERSHIP as was typical in our weekly network ratings posts prior to July, 2009.
Nielsen TV Ratings Data: ©2009 The Nielsen Company. All Rights Reserved.
Fox is nailing down the 18-49 & 18-34 demos! I believe they Have Glee to thank for that especially the 18-34!
CW’s numbers this week vs last week demonstrate just how much better VD repeats than anything they had last season.
Ali, Fox has a good World Series to thank for these numbers more than anything. Glee is one hour a week, and its A18-49 rating is actually less than Fox’s average. Its A18-34 rating is a bit higher, but not high enough that a one hour show will have any significant effect on the network’s rating. Not enough to say that Fox has Glee to thank for their fall success, that’s for sure.
ABC still has hit shows in DH, DWTS and GA, you’re not gonna hear as long as these show remain in the teens.
FOX’s improved performance pre World Series was due to “Glee” and the Sunday cartoons. (I provide the Sunday notation for clarification, because “Glee” is a Wednesday cartoon.) And due to not making shows like “Hole in the Wall” and “Do Not Disturb.” They hit the skids on Tuesday and Friday. Creatively, I’m not impressed. And I don’t know how much longer this “improvement” will last, since I’m expecting “American Idol” to be down quite a bit from last year. No Paula. Which means no Simon-Paula chemistry. Which means no Paula Trainwreck TV moments.
ABC doesn’t look great on a chart, but they don’t have any one night where they are totally hopeless. Although the bloom has come off 3 of their roses (“FlashForward,” “Cougar Town,” “The Forgotten”).
If the cw kept Smallville on thursdays then maybe it would have even higher ratings/viewers. That was a pretty bad move considering Smallville ranked 3rd of best show in all of the cw, abc, fox, nbc, and cbs. This year because it is on fridays it would be lucky enough to get in the top 25. I love smallville its a great show and so much can and will come from it. More heroes and villains will appear, a season 10 most likely. Smallville, Supernatural, and Vampire Diaries are the only shows keeping the cw alive. 90210, GG, OTH are helping it but only a little. And the only reason that gg and oth are doing better then supernatural is because of the repeat that Supernatural had was bad while it was against a new OTH and GG. When Supernatural comes back it will take back second place.
Riff is correct on his diagnosis of Fox’s fall improvements, and I also agree with the likely disappearance of the season to season improvement come spring because of Idol declines. Even a small % loss in Idol ratings swamps the rest of Fox’s averages.
As for attributing the causes of any decline in Idol ratings, that’s a bit trickier. Last season saw ~10% declines in Idol ratings, which I attribute to natural erosion (although that’s just a guess, you could just as well claim it was the 4th judge). People will be quick to attribute declines this season to Paula, but there will be similarly little data to actually back that up.
Smallville, Vampire Diaries is an improvement on Smallville in the demos that CW cares about.
Smallville is the best TV show on the CW. I hope supernatural, gossip girl, melrose place, and 90210 get cancelled.
Go Smallville 4 life!
i hate Dawn Ostroff and the stupid demos she aims for.
About ABC getting a free pass: Two words – Broken and Record. NBC IS the bottom of the pile. Besides the Olympics, NBC will continue to sink, and ABC will come back with its biggest guns blazing from March to May.
You mean like last March through May when ABC premiered 6 new shows (plus Scrubs) to horrible ratings across the board and only renewed two of them, one with middling ratings, and the other with ratings so horrible it is a total mystery why it was renewed? ABC will come back with those guns blazing?
Lost is one hour a week and isn’t going to suddenly turn the tide for ABC.
Lucky,
ABC will come back with its biggest guns blazing from March to May.
Two words: Your guess.
As of now, they have fallen nearly as much as NBC vs. last season.
The fact that its a broken record is sadly due to the fact that season to date ratings don’t vary much on a week to week basis. I’d love to have something new to write, but the data doesn’t accommodate me!
90210 remake is actually good.
Does it really matter what 18-34 think? Apart from credit card debt and school debt, they have surely the least money to spend anyway.
smallville is the worst show and i hate that annoying blonde chick on there they should end it this season
The CW still wants Smallville. Even It’s moved to fridays, its ratings always compared with Gossip Girl, 90210, One Tree Hill and Melrose Place.
90210, Gossip Girl, and Melrose Place are all performing pretty badly for the network.
One Tree Hill is barely performing decently, and still down a lot from last year. The show is way past it’s expiration date.
Smallville is performing well despite being moved to Friday nights.
Vampire Diaries is bringing in the most viewers, and performing the best. This show has the most potential.
Supernatural is performing well. Might get a sixth season pick up.
America’s Next Top Model has been disappointing this cycle ratings wise, but that’s most likely due to it being the “short” cycle.
Overall the CW isn’t doing that great. It’s bad when a “Keeping Up with the Kardasians” new episode beats every single show on The CW! The CW better be thanking their lucky stars they got “Vampire Diaries”.
I don’t think that 90210, Melrose Place, and Gossip Girl will last long anyway. All three of them will be cancelled by season’s end.
Keep dreaming, Robert Watson. Gossip Girl is CW’s number one scripted show in the demo they care about, W18-34. And that’s #1, ahead of Vampire Diaries. (Though without repeats VD has a slight edge.)