You can always count on Bill Carter at the New York Times to be surprised by numbers that aren't a surprise to anyone who's been paying attention to them.
Yesterday's article is no different. In it he's surprised by ratings declines in the Spring!
In the last few weeks, new viewership lows for network series have been recorded nightly among 18- to 49-year-olds, the group that still commands the highest advertising prices.
The declines have not discriminated. The bad news has been the same for hits, like ABC’s “Modern Family,” which had its lowest rating for the season (4.0 or about 5.2 million viewers)
NYT Newsflash! Modern Family hits adults 18-49 season low* in week 31!
Alert for those paying attention! Modern Family hit a season low in week 31 last season as well!
And this season's low (4.1 rating) was higher than last season's low (3.8), but that doesn't fit the nonsense narrative that Carter's pitching ("mysterious" decline in broadcast viewership, unfounded speculation as to why) so it's conveniently omitted!
Here's a helpful guide to readers (& NYT writers):
- Broadcast primetime ratings have been declining quite consistently year to year for about 30 years.
- Every season Spring ratings decline vs. Fall ratings.
Now you can be a veritable TV Ratings Indiana Jones in unraveling the mysteries before the New York Times!
Update: Joe Flint does better research on the history of Bill Carter being "surprised" than I do.
* Not counting the Wednesday Thanksgiving Eve show which is designated as a "special" and is typically the lowest rated episode of ABC's Wednesday shows each season. Next December NYT headline preview: Third Wednesday In November Sees Mysterious Decline In ABC Ratings! What's Going On?
Tell us how you REALLY feel about Bill
Next December NYT headline preview: Third Wednesday In November Sees Mysterious Decline In ABC Ratings! What’s Going On?
Enough to say …
Bill, do you hate NYT or is just a personal thing with Mr. Carter? xD Shame on him BTW
“Bill, do you hate NYT or is just a personal thing with Mr. Carter? xD Shame on him BTW”
The NYT is fine, Carter’s a never-ending source of stuff like this, but if the headline was “Bill Carter Surprised…” 99.99999% of people that saw it would wonder “Who?”.
I can say the quality is down this year thats a given.
WTF’s he on? Any word on last nights ratings/friday finals Bill?
MF hasn’t been good lately so the ratings had to be low!
I do like his books on late night TV though. The Late Shift was pretty awesome and revealing.
@HB Bill Carter?
MF is still the best comedy on TV.
The One-Percenters who own Hollywood REFUSE
The One-Percenters who own Hollywood REFUSE to spend money for quality Programming, now they are reaping what they have sowed.
“The One-Percenters who own Hollywood REFUSE to spend money for quality Programming, now they are reaping what they have sowed.”
Huh?
On second thought, get in touch with Bill Carter, stat!
Geez, gloating makes you look really, really small, Mr. Gorman. “I know you are but what am I?”
LOL’d HARD @Regulus
Wow you’re an idiot.
@HotLatino4GayMarriage
Yes it is still the BEST but it hasn’t been up to its OWN standards
I was thinking of picking up his books on the late night wars and any others that he had written (along with Warren Littlefield’s new book), but should I reconsider that?
Worth noting that Modern Family Turkey Day special pulled a 4.6 this year. How’s that for “Spring owns Turkey Day”?
Bill Carters a big lib, anyways, but what really gets me mad is-this clown gets PAID to write garbage like this? How can I get a gig like that, at the NY Slimes, which is quickly going out of business?
NYT sucks in general
Did the huge drops in March-April-May that we’ve seen in the past few years also happened 5, 10, 20 years ago? Did ER and Friends dropped over 25% in the Spring of 1997?