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Are You Watching Less TV This Summer Than Usual?

BuzzSugar — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:30:52 -0700

Summer is not usually a time for massive TV ratings, but this year is looking even worse than normal: last week, the networks combined for the worst ratings in the 18-49 demographic ever. Yeah, ever.

Even the buzzed-about I'm a Celebrity . . . Get Me Out of Here! wasn't a hit, and made-for-Summer reality shows like The Superstars on ABC aren't raking in viewers, either. Maybe even worse, original scripted shows have been posting abysmal ratings - like Tuesday's return of Better Off Ted, only seen by 1.9 million viewers. There are some bright spots (So You Think You Can Dance does fine, and America's Got Talent had a decent if not spectacular premiere), but they're the exceptions.

Since many of you fall into that 18-49 demographic, I'm wondering if your viewing habits have changed this Summer. Are you turning off the TV altogether (maybe heading outside, where - contrary to what this picture suggests - cable hookups don't come standard)? Or are you watching the same amount of TV, but more of it on cable or online?

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Number Crunching: This Week's TV Ratings

BuzzSugar — Sat, 23 May 2009 10:30:45 -0700

Fallen Idol. American Idol crushed everything in its wake this week, but there's still a cautionary note: Both the performance and results portions of the finales were the lowest rated in the series' history. Tuesday's performance show got just above 23 million viewers, while Wednesday's results show averaged about 28.8 million viewers - though it peaked at about 34 million viewers in the final half-hour.
A little gleeful. Glee had a decent (if not blockbuster) debut after Tuesday's Idol, averaging about 10.7 million viewers.
So you think you can keep people tuning in all Summer? Moving on from Idol, Fox launched its Summer with the fifth season of So You Think You Can Dance, with an average of 8.8 million viewers watching Thursday's two-hour premiere.
And more dancing! Dancing with the Stars wrapped up its season this week with about 18.7 million people watching Monday's performances and the same number coming back to see the winner crowned on Tuesday.
Still desperate for more. Desperate Housewives finished up its fifth season as the highest-rated show on Sunday, averaging 13.9 million viewers.

Photo courtesy of Fox

Number Crunching: This Week's TV Ratings

BuzzSugar — Sat, 16 May 2009 10:30:24 -0700

Great Grey's? It's mostly good news this week for Grey's Anatomy, which finished its season with 16.3 million viewers, beating out the finales of two different CSI installments. The only bad thing? That was the show's lowest-rated finale ever.
Castle climbs. Castle made a big push for renewal on Monday, closing out its first season with 9.7 million viewers - even though its lead-in, Dancing with the Stars, did worse than usual.
Dollhouse drops. On the other side of things, Dollhouse had a poor showing in its final episode last Friday, coming in with a season-low 2.8 million viewers.
Finales everywhere. In other notable season finale news: House finished with 12.7 million viewers on Monday, The Office pulled in 6.7 million, 30 Rock nabbed 5.7 million, and The Biggest Loser averaged 11.8 million viewers over the three hours of its finale.

Number Crunching: This Week's TV Ratings

BuzzSugar — Sat, 09 May 2009 10:30:45 -0700

Goin' to the chapel. Thursday's Grey's Anatomy wedding brought 15.3 million viewers along as guests. That made it first in its time slot, as competitor CSI finished with 14.6 million viewers.
So long, Sacred Heart. Scrubs went out on Wednesday with 5.1 million viewers tuning in for the show's final episode - at least of the season, if not the series.
Shut down. Sit Down, Shut Up is floundering in its new Sundays-at-7 time slot, pulling in just 2.1 million viewers this week.
In the house. House appears to be finishing up its season on a high note ratings-wise, with Monday's next-to-last episode pulling in just over 12 million viewers.
Hopeful. Michael J. Fox's special on optimism got some pretty pleasing results on Thursday, finishing with 10.6 million viewers.

Number Crunching: This Week's TV Ratings

BuzzSugar — Sat, 02 May 2009 10:30:05 -0700

Betty's back, but . . . Ugly Betty made its return to the Thursday lineup this week, and while its 6.8 million viewers were better than how comedies Samantha Who? and In the Motherhood did in that slot, it's still way down from Betty's heyday.
Nobody's gossiping. Maybe it was that long break, but Gossip Girl is having some ratings trouble this Spring. Monday's episode barely topped 2 million viewers.
Farewell (for now?), Chuck and Heroes. The first of this season's finales aired Monday, with NBC's Chuck and Heroes bidding adieu. Both were down from previous weeks, with Chuck pulling in 6.1 million viewers and Heroes nabbing 6.4 million.
Obamarama. On Wednesday, a combined estimated 18.8 million people watched President Obama address the nation on the three broadcast networks that carried it. The fourth, Fox, still won the hour with Lie to Me, but the show pulled in just 7.9 million viewers.
Lowly. Thursday was rough even for typically standout shows Grey's Anatomy and CSI. Both were at or near series lows this week, with Grey's pulling in 13.9 million viewers and CSI finishing with 15.3 million.

Number Crunching: This Week's TV Ratings

BuzzSugar — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 10:30:00 -0700

Big death? Meh. Edie Britt's farewell on Desperate Housewives didn't exactly draw a crowd, with a below-average 13.9 million people tuning in.
Actually pretty typical. The Unusuals got a high-profile tryout after Dancing With the Stars this week but couldn't do much with the slot, pulling in just 6.3 million viewers. In its regular slot on Wednesday, it came in just below 5 million viewers.
Your weekly Chuck update. With just one more week to go in its season, Chuck was down from last week's outing, with 6.05 million viewers tuning in.
Moving south? In its first week facing Private Practice, NBC's Southland took a hit, dropping to 8 million viewers. Practice, meanwhile, had 9.2 million viewers.

Number Crunching: This Week's TV Ratings

BuzzSugar — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 10:30:50 -0700

Happy Monday. After weeks of bad news, all of NBC's Monday shows were up this week: Chuck brought in 6.2 million viewers, while Heroes nabbed 6.8 million and Medium finished the night with 7.6 million.
Spelling some ratings. Tori Spelling's return to 90210 didn't exactly bring viewers to the show in droves, but it did tick up a little to 2.1 million viewers.
Terminated? Last Friday's season (and maybe series) finale of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles didn't help the show's case for renewal with 3.6 million viewers.
Southland steady. Does NBC have a hit on its hands with Southland? The show was steady in its second week with 9.6 million viewers. Parks and Recreation, meanwhile, dipped to 5.9 million viewers but still grew the audience from its lead-in.

Photos courtesy of NBC

Number Crunching: This Week's TV Ratings

BuzzSugar — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 10:30:45 -0700

Battle of the Thursday premieres. Three new series premiered on Thursday, and all had solid (if not blockbuster) results. Parks and Recreation nabbed 6.8 million viewers for its premiere, keeping almost all of the 7.2 million folks who watched the episode of The Office before it. At 10 p.m., Harper's Island won in total viewers (10.5 million), but Southland was close behind (9.7 million viewers) and brought in more people in the 18-49 demographic.
Over The Hills? Maybe it's good that Lauren Conrad's leaving The Hills: The show's premiere episodes averaged about 3 million viewers on Monday, down from 3.4 million for last season's premiere.
No rescue needed. Rescue Me's fifth season premiered with a respectable 2.3 million viewers on Tuesday. That's down from the previous season, but that one aired over the Summer, when many competing shows were in repeats.
Not so unusual. The premiere numbers for The Unusuals on Wednesday were actually fairly typical, with 6.8 million viewers.
Country rocks. The Academy of Country Music Awards rocked the ratings on Sunday, finishing as the night's most-watched program with 14.8 million viewers on average.

Photos courtesy of NBC and CBS

Number Crunching: This Week's TV Ratings

BuzzSugar — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 10:30:49 -0700

Call it! ER may have reached its time of death on Thursday, but at least it went out on top: 16.2 million viewers tuned in for the show's two-hour finale, apparently the best-rated drama series finale since The X-Files.
No foolin'. One of the week's big ratings surprises was I Get That a Lot, CBS's celebrity-filled April Fools' special. The show won its time slot on Wednesday with 10.3 million viewers.
Damaged? FX's Damages dropped to 1 million viewers for its season two finale on Wednesday, down from its season one finale - but, on a positive note, it's more viewers than regular episodes of Damages have been getting this season.
Kids pick Nick. Nickelodeon scored big with its Kids' Choice Awards broadcast on Saturday, with 7.7 million viewers tuning in - including record-setting numbers of, well, kids.
Shot by Cupid's arrow? ABC's Cupid apparently wasn't love at first sight for viewers: The show finished last in its time slot with 7.6 million viewers on Tuesday.

Photo courtesy of NBC

Number Crunching: This Week's TV Ratings

BuzzSugar — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 10:30:50 -0700

It's a . . . winner! The Secret Life of the American Teenager pulled in 4.5 million viewers for its season finale on Monday, more than double what Gossip Girl nabbed in the same time slot.
Reaping the benefits. Speaking of things that beat Gossip Girl this week: With most of the networks showing President Obama's speech or repeats, Reaper managed to pull in a season high in the ratings on Wednesday with about 2.5 million viewers.
The final battle. It's an oldie but a goodie: Last Friday, Battlestar Galactica wrapped up its run on Sci Fi with 2.4 million viewers, the best since 2006.
Anyone laughing yet? ABC tried out Thursday comedy with In the Motherhood and Samantha Who? this week to middling results. Motherhood's series premiere nabbed 6.7 million viewers, while Samantha's return got 6.5 million.
Seeing the lights. Whether it was a publicity stunt or something else, whatever went down between LeAnn Rimes and Eddie Cibrian helped propel their Lifetime movie, Northern Lights, to ratings highs: With 4.5 million viewers, it's the most-watched Lifetime movie of the year thus far.

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