Ratings Discussion

Sadly, I really don't think the numbers will pick up all that much. CBS lost 2 million viewers between Criminal Minds and CSI--Criminal Minds had something like 14.1 million. So after CM was over, 2 million people turned the channel. Even on a new night, CM should be a much better lead-in for CSI than Big Bang Theory/other comedy. But you're right. It's only the first episode of the season and it's too early to tell.

For many of CSI's "old" viewers, it was Grissom or nothing, so I really doubt any of those people account for the 830,000 increase in viewers between the end of last season and the beginning of this one. The curiosity factor may account for some of that, but...by CSI standards, 12.6 million is not alot to get excited about.
 
Robinjn said:
Strong start? In what universe?

Season 10 premiere 'Family Affair' - 15.7 million
Season 11 premiere 'Shock Waves' - 14.688 million
Season 12 premiere ' 73 Seconds' - 12.6 million

That's down 2 million viewers from last season, and earns it the distinction of the lowest CSI season premiere numbers EVER. Try blaming THAT on LF. Go ahead! Try. :p
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Apples and oranges. You can't possibly compare different time slots and different nights. 10pm households are notoriously lower and these shows are the heaviest dvr'd.
Anything over a 3 in the demo at this hour is a solid winner. And, subjectively, I'd say that anything that improves on that prior season finale is also a winner, looking at total viewers and demo. I suspect that the low demo from the final episodes of last season is what ultimately created the loss of the Thursday time slot.

I don't think the numbers have to 'pick up' for this season. If they can remain stable, that would be awesome.
 
jafox said:
Robinjn said:
Strong start? In what universe?

Season 10 premiere 'Family Affair' - 15.7 million
Season 11 premiere 'Shock Waves' - 14.688 million
Season 12 premiere ' 73 Seconds' - 12.6 million

That's down 2 million viewers from last season, and earns it the distinction of the lowest CSI season premiere numbers EVER. Try blaming THAT on LF. Go ahead! Try. :p
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Apples and oranges. You can't possibly compare different time slots and different nights. 10pm households are notoriously lower and these shows are the heaviest dvr'd.
Anything over a 3 in the demo at this hour is a solid winner. And, subjectively, I'd say that anything that improves on that prior season finale is also a winner, looking at total viewers and demo. I suspect that the low demo from the final episodes of last season is what ultimately created the loss of the Thursday time slot.

I don't think the numbers have to 'pick up' for this season. If they can remain stable, that would be awesome.
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How is it apples and oranges? Many of the articles talking about LF's departure were quick to cite the falling ratings since WP left and LF came on. Articles about Ted Danson's arrival seem to think that things will be better for CSI ratings-wise. The numbers for the first episode have not borne that out. The fact of the matter is the ratings have been going down since season five, except for a blip in season 9 on the strength of WP's episodes. Until the end of last season, the numbers during LF's tenure were pretty stable.

Even if the numbers "remain stable", i.e. in the 12.6 million neighborhood, that's still less than what they were last season.
 
"Less than last season" doesn't spell disaster for a show that's on S12 and had a major cast change. Especially when we're talking 12+ million viewers.
 
Robinjn said:
jafox said:
Robinjn said:
Strong start? In what universe?

Season 10 premiere 'Family Affair' - 15.7 million
Season 11 premiere 'Shock Waves' - 14.688 million
Season 12 premiere ' 73 Seconds' - 12.6 million

That's down 2 million viewers from last season, and earns it the distinction of the lowest CSI season premiere numbers EVER. Try blaming THAT on LF. Go ahead! Try. :p
Click to expand...
Apples and oranges. You can't possibly compare different time slots and different nights. 10pm households are notoriously lower and these shows are the heaviest dvr'd.
Anything over a 3 in the demo at this hour is a solid winner. And, subjectively, I'd say that anything that improves on that prior season finale is also a winner, looking at total viewers and demo. I suspect that the low demo from the final episodes of last season is what ultimately created the loss of the Thursday time slot.

I don't think the numbers have to 'pick up' for this season. If they can remain stable, that would be awesome.
Click to expand...

How is it apples and oranges? Many of the articles talking about LF's departure were quick to cite the falling ratings since WP left and LF came on. Articles about Ted Danson's arrival seem to think that things will be better for CSI ratings-wise. The numbers for the first episode have not borne that out. The fact of the matter is the ratings have been going down since season five, except for a blip in season 9 on the strength of WP's episodes. Until the end of last season, the numbers during LF's tenure were pretty stable.

Even if the numbers "remain stable", i.e. in the 12.6 million neighborhood, that's still less than what they were last season.
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It's 'apples and oranges' because the pool of viewers is different in different time periods. Just ask The Mentalist fans when their show dropped roughly 3-4 million viewers when it moved from Tuesdays at 9 to Thursdays at 10.
LF's CSI lost about 3-4 million viewers (and dropped a full point or more in the demo) in 2 1/2 years, in the same time slot.
Networks want to see stability so they can sell the show the next season. Ad rates are decided based on the night and the time slot of the show, and negotiated, I assume, depending on the demo rating. If CSI can stay in the 12 million range and stay close to a 3 in the demo, and not drop into the same numbers that NY did in this time slot (low 2's in the demo if I recall correctly), then I think it's a winner and CBS would be happy. It's compatible with Criminal Minds, so the 2 shows may help each other. Dropping some viewers from the 9-10 o'clock hour is expected.

So, I'll qualify all of that by stating that it really is too soon to tell :), regarding TD's CSI; expectations may be different, but stability is key when the numbers start out lower. And with Marg leaving, tptb might be a little nervous.

Final ratings for the premiere: 3.2/9 (18-49 demo), 12.74 million viewers
 
OK, based on what you just said, how do you justify comparing the season 11 finale, which was on Thursday at 9:00, to the season 12 premiere, which was on Wednesday at 10:00. Isn't that 'apples and oranges' too? Different pool of viewers and all that?

And for the record, I didn't say it spelled disaster, doom, or anything else negative. People are getting all excited over an increase in viewers from the season finale. More apples and oranges, according to you.
 
Another thing to think about is that the reported ratings are usually only based on Nielsen families. It does not reflect the millions of viewers who are not Nielsen families. So, in reality the number of actual viewers is much higher for pretty much every show. Unless Direct TV and other satellite/cable providers are recording info from ALL of their customers' boxes on what they watch lol.
 
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The fact is it beat the other competition (REVENGE - which I watched this morning and enjoyed, and SVU - which lost one of its main characters AFTER 12 seasons). That accounts for a LOT.
 
Robinjn said:
OK, based on what you just said, how do you justify comparing the season 11 finale, which was on Thursday at 9:00, to the season 12 premiere, which was on Wednesday at 10:00. Isn't that 'apples and oranges' too? Different pool of viewers and all that?

And for the record, I didn't say it spelled disaster, doom, or anything else negative. People are getting all excited over an increase in viewers from the season finale. More apples and oranges, according to you.
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I got into the 'apples and oranges' discussion with you because you were directly comparing the ratings from seasons 10 and 11 premieres with this one; it's invalid because of the time slot change to a period when there are actually fewer people watching tv, so the viewing pool is already smaller.
I don't know what CBS expected, but I would think they would be happy with the fact that even with the time and day change (and going up against 2 fairly well hyped shows), they didn't lose viewers from last season's finale, and they actually had an increase in the demo. That was my only reason for the comparison to the end of last season, and that's why I thought it was a strong start to this season. It soundly beat SVU, and although Revenge started pretty good (with major help from Modern Family), it's unknown how it will hold up.

For the rest of the season I'll remain cautiously optimistic, but time will tell. Danson seems to have gotten a fairly warm reception. Historically, this has not been a strong hour for CBS since NY's heyday, but CSI might just be able to stabilize an otherwise strong nite, like The Mentalist has done on Thursdays.

And maybe the ratings would have been the same if LF (and not TD) was still there. But we'll never know, will we? ;)

Just trying to remain objective here.
 
Honestly that's a great start! Come on, when was the last time the demo was that high? Yea 12 mill is a decrease but it was only the 1st night. I'm sure with more promos word will get out.
 
Perfect Anomaly said:
I guess I don't see how saying it was a strong start equals "getting all excited." :confused:
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Putting an exclamation point at the end of a statement usually indicates emphasis or excitement. Hence "A strong start!" indicated to me that someone was excited about it. Whatever. :rolleyes:

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jafox, I guess I don't understand about the viewing pool. Wouldn't the same people who watched CSI on Thursdays follow it to Wednesdays? Casual viewers might not, but the regular, diehard fans would. By most accounts, many of the regular fans were pretty disgusted with the Haskell storyline and could give a rat's patoot about the last three episodes of last season, hence the low numbers. These same regular fans plus a considerable number of casual fans would know that LF was gone and TD was in, so they would follow the show to Wednesday--wouldn't they?
 
How on earth does one get to be a Nielson family, I wonder?
I watch live every single week, and dvr it for additional watching on other days with other family members. I have DirecTV, and as far as I'm concerned they had better be tracking me :lol:
 
ladybronco said:
How on earth does one get to be a Nielson family, I wonder?
I watch live every single week, and dvr it for additional watching on other days with other family members. I have DirecTV, and as far as I'm concerned they had better be tracking me :lol:
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Simple answer - like with Jury Duty! It's all in computers randomly picking you. :lol:

How To Be A Nielsen Family


We got chosen once when I was a kid. We got a postcard in the mail for each tv in the house filled them in as we watched tv that week and mailed them back. (postcards = ancient history! :p)


Susan
 
A decent start to the season ratings wise. If it keeps that up it should be renewed for another season.

I've seen a few really good reviews of the season premier so hopefully once word of mouth spreads the ratings might even pick up a little :)

Edit: interesting that Person of Interest got a 3.1 in CSI's old Thursday 9pm slot.
 
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