Lower Decks

Weekly Ratings Roundup
Week 5 of the 2008-2009 Television Season
Monday, October 14th, 2008 – Sunday, October 26th, 2008

Broadcast Network

After seemingly losing momentum last week, CBS drama Ghost Whisperer hit a season high and topped ten million viewers for the first time since Season Two (“The Cradle Will Rock,” 11.35 million viewers on Friday, February 16th, 2007).  On  FOX, however, Fringe fell to a series low of 8.91 million viewers.  In the adults 18-49 demographic, however, it drew a 3.9/10 Nielsen rating (down from a 4.0/10 the previous week), which is still far above what the series premiere performed (3.2/9 on Tuesday, September 9th).  If Fringe can hold steady at roughly nine million viewers and a 4.0 rating in the A18-49 demo, FOX will consider it a hit.

25   Ghost Whisperer            10,140,000
38   Fringe                      8,910,000

NBC’s Heroes also fell to a series-low, drawing only 8.51 million viewers and a 3.9/9 A18-49 rating, falling below 4.0 for the first time.  Last season, the series never dropped below a 4.9 rating in the A18-49 demo.  Heroes is losing steam fast.  The network’s freshman series, Knight Rider, fell slightly to 7.23 million viewers (down from 7.74 million the previous week).  If Heroes continues its free fall, will we see Knight Rider match or beat what used to be NBC’s powerhouse?  Perhaps in total viewers; Knight Rider drew a 2.2/6 rating in the A18-49 demographic, still far below what Heroes does.

43   Heroes                      8,510,000
54   Knight Rider                7,230,000

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles fell to a series-low in total viewers, 5.02 million (down from 5.73 million on Monday, October 6th) while matching its series-low performance in the A18-49 demographic (2.0/5 on Monday, September 29th).  Although FOX picked up the series for the remainder of the 2008-2009 season, there has to be a lower threshold that will force the network to reverse its decision.

75   Terminator: TSCC   5,020,000

On The CW, Smallville held steady at 4.16 million viewers and a 1.7/4 A18-49 rating (compared to a 4.18 million viewers and a 1.7/5 A18-49 rating the previous week).  Supernatural rebounded from its season-low performance with 3.25 million viewers and a 1.3/3 rating in the A18-49 demo (compared to 3.06 million viewers and a 1.2/3 rating the previous week).  Through the first six episodes of Season Four, Supernatural is averaging 3.35 million viewers.  The first six episodes of Season Three averaged 3.1 million viewers.

81   SMALLVILLE                  4160    1.4
88   SUPERNATURAL                3250    1.1

SCI FI Channel (Two-Week Delay, October 6th through October 12th).

The news was mixed for SCI FI, with the second episode of Sanctuary falling to a 1.6 rating (meaning 1.6% of households with access to SCI FI). The two-hour series premiere drew a much stronger 2.2 rating.  Still, Sanctuary ranked as the cable channel’s second-highest broadcast, behind only Ghost Hunters, which held steady at a 2.0 (that’s good news).

Sanctuary Season One
"Sanctuary for All"              2.2
"Fata Morgana"                   1.6

Stargate: Atlantis, meanwhile, hit a season-high with a 1.5 rating, the best performance for the series since the Season Four finale on Friday, March 7th, 2008.

Stargate: Atlantis Season Five
"Search and Rescue (1)"          1.3
"The Seed"                       1.1
"Broken Ties"                    1.2
"The Daedalus Variations"        1.3
"Ghost in the Machine"           1.2
"The Shrine"                     1.2
"Whispers"                       1.1
"The Queen"                      1.3
"Tracker"                        1.2
"First Contact (1)"              1.1
"The Lost Tribe (2)"             1.5

Destination Truth drew a 1.4, good enough for fourth place, and ECW was seventh with a 1.2 rating.  The rest of the Top Ten was filled with made-for-TV movies.  Eureka is currently on hiatus.

Conclusion

The hefty drop from Sanctuary’s series premiere is concerning, but compared to Flash Gordon and The Dresden Files, a 1.6 rating is still quite good for SCI FI.  If the show can stay above a 1.5 rating, it stands a good chance of renewal.  With Stargate: Atlantis ending after this season, Battlestar: Galactica wrapping up soon, SCI FI needs scripted programs.

On broadcast, aside from the impressive performance of Ghost Whisperer, the news is grim.  Fringe, Heroes and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles all fell to series-lows in total viewers.  While Fringe and Heroes are still doing well in the A18-49 demographic, Heroes is down considerably from last season and Fringe has dropped for three weeks in a row.  As always, Smallville and Supernatural continue to perform solidly for The CW.

During the current week, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles was pre-empted by the World Series, Knight Rider by a political advertisement, and Fringe was a repeat. On Monday, Heroes dropped again, this time to 8.19 million viewers.  Who would have thought that a series that averaged 14 million viewers during its first season and 11.5 million during its second could fall this much or this quickly?

Sources

Program rankings from ABC Medianet
Household Nielsen ratings and adults 18-49 demographic from the Sitcoms Online message boards
SCI FI Channel ratings from SCI FI Wire

All Nielsen Ratings Copyright Nielsen Media Research