CBS repeats gave Fringe and Private Practice some extra eyeballs last night, even if the procedural reruns still pulled in better numbers. FlashForward‘s fall finale posted the show’s lowest ratings ever, down from 8 million viewers two weeks ago and 9 million for its premiere.
| Time | Show | Viewers (in millions) |
|---|---|---|
| 8:00 p.m. | Survivor: Samoa (CBS) Bones (Fox) FlashForward (ABC) Community (NBC) The Vampire Diaries (The CW) |
12.8 9.9 7.3 5.3 2.0 (repeat) |
| 8:30 p.m. | Parks and Recreation (NBC) | 4.8 |
| 9:00 p.m. | CSI (CBS) Private Practice (ABC) The Office (NBC) Fringe (Fox) Supernatural (The CW) |
9.9 (repeat) 9.3 8.1 6.9 1.9 (repeat) |
| 9:30 p.m. | 30 Rock (NBC) | 6.2 |
| 10:00 p.m. | The Mentalist (CBS) Private Practice (ABC) The Jay Leno Show (NBC) |
10.7 (repeat) 9.7 4.7 |
Source: Nielsen
Can’t believe FlashForward is loosing viewers! Last night was an awesome episode, great recap EW! anyways… weird, love the show!
I’m thinking the same thing! Last night’s show was really good!
Do these numbers take into account DVRs, TiVO and the like? Due to work, I’m frequently unable to watch “Flashforward” live, but I always record it and watch it later. Otherwise, like Mimi, I can’t understand those numbes – “FlashForward” is truly “must-see TV” week after week.
No, they don’t take into DVR’s and such. The idea of these numbers is to give advertisers an idea of who’s watching a show in real time and that determines how much a station can charge for 30 second spots. They don’t count DVR because DVR viewers aren’t watching the commercials, which pay salaries and make revenue for the station. It doesn’t matter how many people are actually watching the show, it matters how many people have the TV on to at least subliminally take in the commercials.
Bones Rules!
CBS rules! Even in REPEATS
ABC has some real smart minds over there.. Flash Forward has their lowest ratings ever last night, so they pull the show until March. Makes total sense. Because ratings will only increase right? Do these “execs” really just sit there and not think these things out? I can understand a 1 month break or 6 week break but this is just stupid. And these people get paid 100K + to make these decisions? How does putting a tanking show (that is a momentum show) off the air for 3 months help it? Same thing with V.. Why even start it in November? Those first 4 episodes weren’t a “mini series”.. It was just 4 episodes!! It’s the same stupidity from the network that killed Dirty Sexy Money, Life on Mars, Pushing Daises. Spare me the talk about the Olympics. What does the Olympics being on have to do with ANY serial show not on NBC? I don’t know 5 people who would actually sit and watch the Winter Olympics. These networks still schedule shows like it’s 1992 and nobody has a DVR. ABC is becoming just like FOX.. Still better than NBC but still pathetic and clueless as ever. The CW makes better scheduling decisions than all 3 of those networks combined.
The CW has like 5 shows, and 75% of those are just about carbon copies of each other… and they only average about 2 mil an ep.
I would not call that evidence of any kind of great decision making.
I said the CW makes better scheduling decisions. They run episodes in blocks and take the appropriate # of weeks off (which is needed to shoot, edit future episodes). They don’t do what ABC does and start a show in November and can it for 4 months (V).. Or take a struggling show that has been filming since last summer and can it for 3 months (FF). That is NO way to build hype. The CW , on the other hand, debuts Vamp Diaries in Sept. Runs it week after week and while on break, is going to run the entire 1st 10 episodes over again. The show is already their highest rated show and now they are giving it more exposure. THAT is how you promote a new show on break. You don’t can it for 4 months with NO PROMOTION and hope the “fans” come back and still care. FF has already shot like 4 episodes that haven’t aired yet, they arent going to rewrite ANY scripts or so reshoots. That’s pretty obvious considering that ABC is showing they could care less about the show anyway. People would rather watch the same boring crap on TV like dancing shows or another CSI type, solve the case in 60 mins garbage show.
CW has more than 5 shows and none of them are alike. How are shows like Smallville, Supernatural, Vampire Diaries and Gossip Girl similar? All 4 of those shows are better than any 4 shows on ABCs lineup at the moment.
Until Lost is back, ABC is basically like NBC.. A Useless network full of boring, repetitive, spoon fed TV.
How are Gossip Girl, 90210 or Melrose Place so different? So then that makes 3 shows that are not all the same thing, and three shows that could all be confused for the same program. I guess I should have said “50% of those are just about carbon copies of each other.”
Putting Melrose Place on after 90210 has also done very little to help that struggling show (MP) out, so I would not call that a success of scheduling.
Look, I am with you on ABC. Most of the networks seem like the spend big money on these shows, just to not give a crap and cancel them at the first sign that they are not immediate huge hits. It is sad and ridiculous. There is very little true creativity being shown lately by the networks, and even less balls to stand behind what they produce. I do, however, think that holding up the CW as a paragon of network programming is a bit hasty… and I am a HUGE fan of Supernatural.
I like that FF and V are being put on hiatus for the moment… it gives me a bit of hope that these shows will be re-tinkered and that they will be improved rather than thrown into the dumpster…
I am just not too sure that will actually happen.
PS- I actually like Castle, Lost, V and Grey’s Anatomy…
I would love to know your ideas of what a non-spoon fed program is.
Frank I almost attacked you for my love of Supernatural, but you’re a fan too so I realize what you meant. It’s shameful to be enjoying SPN and then see like 15 commercials about GG and 90210 lol but I will give them one thing: they are doing their damnest to keep the show that is really succeeding going–that Vampire show is a bigger hit than I’d ever expect it to have been–then again…it IS a vamp show.. lol
Well, if you read David S. Goyer’s interview on Flashforward’s hiatus, he stated it was because the scheduling would’ve been very bad if FF returned in January. Two weeks on, three weeks off, two weeks on, another three weeks off, up until May closes in. Any Lost season 2 viewer knows that having that schedule is a recipe for disaster. I think a longer break is better, if the result is that the episodes will be interrupted.
I don’t watch Flashforward (I might catch up over the holidays) but that’s a wise move.
I can’t believe 9.9 million people would rather watch a rerun of CSI than Fringe. Is the show really still that good?
Amy – last night’s CSI re-run was an episode with Gris & was actually one of the better episodes in the series (outside anything with Lady Heather, of course). Liked the “Vampire Dairies” – that show is getting good & “Supernatural” was a repeat – but still really like it.
I really need to get to all those episodes of Fringe building up on my DVR.
Flash Forward needs to take this break and start bumping up the excitement of the show. They have an interesting core story, but the way they are telling it so far isn’t very interesting. Where are the twists and action scenes. So far it is mainly people walking around glumly and talking. Someone needs to tell these writers to show, not tell, what happens in their narrative.
I would not at all be surprised to see it get the can. Network execs have a hair trigger now when it comes to canning a show that could get interesting. They have 0 patience.
It’s depressing to see Parks and Recreation at the bottom of the NBC heap — it’s consistently better than the other shows in the Thursday night lineup.
I know. Parks and Rec has been so consistently funny this season. I wish more people would give it a chance.
FlashFoward was great last night. But between the 3 month break and these ratings, I am really worried aboout the shows future. ABC has come a long way this year. For the last couple of years the only thing I watched on ABC was Lost. Now I also watch Castle, FlashForward, V, The Middle, Modern Family and Cougar Town. ABC has edged past Fox in my book. CBS is the best and NBC is the worst.
I don’t think people realized it was still on this week. Given that most of our shows have gone on hiatus. This is an excellent show. ABC is famous for cancelling excellent shows.
NBC sucks and why leno and that awful Parks show is still on is beyond me.
The Private Practice movie was stellar. It was so good I didn’t even miss Grey’s Anatomy not being on last night.
lol I think Fringe gained views cause Supernatural was a repeat–I finally got to see Fringe on its live spot cause Supernatural was a repeat that night. I am seriously hating the low ratings Fringe is getting though–it’s an amazing show. Horrrrrible timeslot.