Ratings Discussion

Same goes for this thread as goes for the spoiler and episode threads. Let's try not to get pissy with each other over things. It's possible to disagree and discuss without the pettiness and sarcasm.
 
Robinjn said:
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?
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I agree with you in theory, but in reality the majority of tv viewers are not 'diehard' fans. They just want to turn on the tv on a given night and be entertained. It becomes habitual; and for a long time, they tuned into CSI on Thursday at 9pm.

As fans we are keenly aware of press and media coverage and hype; but the majority of viewers don't keep track of those things. I know several regular viewers who weren't aware of the time change or that LF left or that TD was coming on. I suspect there were some people who tuned in last night and were surprised to see Person Of Interest. But I think that's why CBS put a new show there; they wanted it to get sampled by their regular Thursday night audience.

Moving to Wednesdays took alot of those 'regular' viewers out of the equation for CSI. But, they might return when they realize it's moved, but maybe not. And, some who may have been unhappy with the show after WP left and LF took over may return, but that's a long shot. But, maybe TD has some fans who will watch for him. Or, by word of mouth, people hear that the show may be worth watching again, so they give it a try.

All I'm really saying is that I think CBS will be happy that they didn't lose viewers by changing nights and giving it a later, less viewed time period, because that's what usually happens; and they should be ecstatic if the demo stays up.
 
Another question: what significance does the demo number have if the actual number of viewers is lower?

CSI's demo of 3.2 wasn't in the Top 25--the show at #25 had a demo of 3.4, so presumably it's a few rungs below that.

CSI's 12.7 million viewers put it at #18 in the Nielsens. I can't remember the last time a first-run episode was ranked that low. I know there are 21 episodes to go, but given what's ahead of it, I don't see CSI moving too much higher. I hope I'm wrong.
 
Well I was doing some research on ratings and comparisons to shows that have lasted as long.

ER is a good example.
Season Year ranking rating
11th 2004–2005 #16 15.17
12th 2005–2006 #30 12.06
13th 2006–2007 #40 11.56
14th 2007–2008 #54 9.20
15th 2008–2009 #37 10.30

ER went on for 15 seasons and still maintained pretty good ratings with much lower ranking. Being that CSI is coming in 18th place with a rating of 12.7 just goes to show how overall viewership is down in recent years. So being in 18th place is still good for it in these times.
 
Also last week there was The Big Bang Theory Special and Modern Family Special, taking those out the equation CSI was # 16 and taking out football, reality, etc CSI would be the 10th scripted show, that's nothing to sneeze at

As for the demo, CSI never does great in that, it's up compared to last season and also in 2nd for the demo instead last like last season
 
Robinjn said:
Another question: what significance does the demo number have if the actual number of viewers is lower?

CSI's demo of 3.2 wasn't in the Top 25--the show at #25 had a demo of 3.4, so presumably it's a few rungs below that.

CSI's 12.7 million viewers put it at #18 in the Nielsens. I can't remember the last time a first-run episode was ranked that low. I know there are 21 episodes to go, but given what's ahead of it, I don't see CSI moving too much higher. I hope I'm wrong.
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First of all, I wouldn't put too much stock into the top 25 rankings yet. Last week was premiere week for many shows, and some shows haven't even aired yet. There will still be some sampling going on in the next few weeks before things settle out.

The demo is still all important to advertisers, regardless of the number of viewers. But, like total viewers, the demo numbers are expected to be lower at the later hour, unless it's a special event; so a 3 or above is excellent at 10pm. That said, CSI is definitely in a spot that generates less ad dollars for the show, but its syndication and worldwide distribution probably more than make up for it. It's just not the cash cow that it once was, but it's probably still in pretty good shape.

It's all relative, as the saying goes. The standard at 10pm on Wednesdays is just different than the prime time of Thursdays at 9. And when viewers leave, it's hard to get them back. Directly comparing the ratings of this season to the past ones isn't really valid; comparing the season premiere to the rest of the season will be more telling. Sometimes shows will gain momemtum from word of mouth promotion; or sometimes the opposite occurs as people lose interest.
 
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Final ratings for last night:

CSI 3.1 18-49 demo/ 11.76 million viewers
Revenge 2.7/ 8.54
Law & Order: SVU 2.1/ 7.24

Solid 2nd week with #1 in demo and viewers for the hour. :thumbsup: I'm a little surprised at the demo win; I thought Revenge (I actually really liked the pilot :)) would be a tough show for CSI to beat.
 
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The 3 in the demo is great, though still down from last week, but is anyone else concerned about the nearly 1 million dropoff in viewers from the premiere?
 
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The premieres are usually higher and the next week they drop a little, and then the next week it might go back up
 
sharp52092 said:
The premieres are usually higher and the next week they drop a little, and then the next week it might go back up
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Very true. I read on the site where I posted the early numbers that Crminal Minds dropped 12% from their premiere whereas CSI only dropped 6% from the premiere.
 
I don't know whether these are final, but here's some initial ratings for Bittersweet:

11.81 million viewers / 2.9 18-49 demo.

So it's a small increase in viewing figures from last week although the demo appears to be slipping down a bit. However I don't think the show's doing too badly at all, managing to keep figures consistent as well as remaining the top in its timeslot. :)

Source
 
These are the final raings for Bittersweet, and others in the hour:

CSI 2.9 (18-49 demo)/ 11.98 million viewers
Revenge 2.4/ 7.68 million
Law & Order: SVU 2.1/ 7.98 million

A bump in the viewers from last week, and CSI still is winning the hour in both demo and viewers, so that has to be a good sign. Marc Berman, who analyzes ratings for a living, calls CSI "one of the unsung heroes" this season; so I'll take his word as positive for the new time period expectations.

FX had a new very-hyped show premiere last night at the same hour, which may have taken some of the demo away from CSI, as well as Revenge (which dropped by .3 in the demo and close to a million viewers).
 
jafox said:
FX had a new very-hyped show premiere last night at the same hour, which may have taken some of the demo away from CSI, as well as Revenge (which dropped by .3 in the demo and close to a million viewers).
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I tried to watch that FX show during the second showing of it. I watched about 30 to 45 mins of it and couldn't stand it anymore. I just turned it to an old episode of Friends LOL.
 
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