Friday night's fourth episode of Spartacus: Blood and Sand averaged .66 million viewers and a .3 rating with adults 18-49, seeing its first ratings decreases. The drop isn't exactly a surprise since it aired against the opening ceremonies for the winter Olympics in Vancouver which averaged over 32 million viewers for the night. I don't think there's any cause for concern over the results.
The episode did as well as the premiere on January 22, but the premiere was widely available before its initial telecast on Starz and was also simulcast on Encore.
Here's the run-down of the first four episodes in their initial airings on Starz:
| Date | Net | Show | 18-49 Rating/Share | Viewers (Millons) |
| 22-Jan-10 | STRZ | Spartacus: Blood and Sand | .3/1 | 0.659 |
| 29-Jan-10 | STRZ | Spartacus: Blood and Sand | .4/1 | 0.773 |
| 5-Feb-10 | STRZ | Spartacus: Blood and Sand | .4/1 | 0.858 |
| 12-Feb-10 | STRZ | Spartacus: Blood and Sand | .3/1 | 0.662 |
I’m sure viewers will catch up with this missed episode via On Demand or torrents.
In retrospect, STARZ should have run an encore of the first three episodes over the three Fridays of the ‘Winter Olympics’ instead of fresh originals.
Now, they’ll have to do a little six-episode marathon before they pick up with episode 7 in early March.
This is a great series, i love it.
While it pales against how great the HBO series Rome was I am also enjoying this show. A lot of hot women and a nice revenge type tale being woven in ancient Rome. Its cheezy for sure but fun.
The characters are getting a little more interesting and the story a little less predictable now.
the characters have no chemistry and the acting is not strong; bring back ROME.
Loving this.
Cheesy with that “Sam Raimi” hint of his Fantasy stylings (Hercules, Xena), over the top gore, awesome erotic scenes.
I am on board for the long run!
No doubt the Olympics hurt it…but, I am not interested in them, so I tuned in to Spartacus. Need my next fix soon!
I wasn’t really thrilled with the first episode but me and my wife both think it has gotten far better in the episodes since so I hope it continues to do well.
I’m sure there’s something about this show that makes it compelling. Though I’ve only seen the pilot, I do plan on catching up with later eps. I think it’s fun that it’s a bit bigger than life.
I wish people would stop the Rome comparisons, or ask ‘why isn’t this like Rome?’ when its not. Its like watching a movie about wizards and demanding why its not like Harry Potter. Despite being based on similar subject material they should not be compared or assumed to be based on that alone.
Openedge1
Sam Raimi didn’t have much to do with Hercules and Xena besides being Rob Tapert’s partner (the creator) and being the older brother of one of the cast members.