Can DVR numbers save struggling TV shows?
Chris Monigle
Issue date: 11/2/09 Section: Entertainment
DVR numbers won't always be a show's saving grace, however.
When "Dollhouse" returned this fall, the overnight ratings were dreadful. The show could barely break a 1.0 in their key demographic, averaging a .8. The average overall viewership is 2.5 million. Fans began to strategize campaigns to save the show once again; however, when things looked most bleak, the DVR numbers painted a more hopeful picture.
The premiere episode's ratings increased 50 percent when DVR ratings were released. The overall DVR numbers were enough to convince FOX executives to run all 13 ordered episodes. The show finishing out its scheduled run looked bleak; however, while DVR numbers have saved "Dollhouse" from immediate cancellation, the future of the show remains in doubt.
FOX has decided to not air "Dollhouse" during November sweeps and instead air back-to-back episodes throughout this upcoming December. FOX essentially plans to "burn the episodes off."
"Heroes" is another show that once looked like it was dead-in-the-water before DVR numbers put a positive spin on its poor numbers. Every week, the show recorded a series-low in the ratings. If it was low one week, the ratings would decrease the following week. "Heroes" gained 50% when DVR numbers were released. A bleak 2.7 demo rating suddenly became 3.7, a good thing for a show whose production costs are huge for a weekly television series. A single episode costs four million dollars to produce.
The pre-DVR numbers made the once critically-revered "Heroes" look as if it would finally be cancelled after two horrific seasons. But the show is still not safe, which reveals that DVR numbers aren't a show's saving grace and, seemingly, prolong the inevitable.
Other shows aided by DVR include "Melrose Place" and "Smallville," but those shows are not expected to last beyond their current television season.
The reason for this, it seems, is that overnight numbers are still the most important, for various reasons, which first and foremost include advertisers, but DVR numbers are important enough to warrant renewal for a struggling series like "Dollhouse" because there's potential to profit off of iTunes downloads, DVD sales, and other similar outlets.
But if DVR numbers are good enough to give a show another six to thirteen episodes, then that's good enough. For now.
Chris Monigle is a fifth-year student majoring in Literature. He can be reached at CM660983@wcupa.edu.
When "Dollhouse" returned this fall, the overnight ratings were dreadful. The show could barely break a 1.0 in their key demographic, averaging a .8. The average overall viewership is 2.5 million. Fans began to strategize campaigns to save the show once again; however, when things looked most bleak, the DVR numbers painted a more hopeful picture.
The premiere episode's ratings increased 50 percent when DVR ratings were released. The overall DVR numbers were enough to convince FOX executives to run all 13 ordered episodes. The show finishing out its scheduled run looked bleak; however, while DVR numbers have saved "Dollhouse" from immediate cancellation, the future of the show remains in doubt.
FOX has decided to not air "Dollhouse" during November sweeps and instead air back-to-back episodes throughout this upcoming December. FOX essentially plans to "burn the episodes off."
"Heroes" is another show that once looked like it was dead-in-the-water before DVR numbers put a positive spin on its poor numbers. Every week, the show recorded a series-low in the ratings. If it was low one week, the ratings would decrease the following week. "Heroes" gained 50% when DVR numbers were released. A bleak 2.7 demo rating suddenly became 3.7, a good thing for a show whose production costs are huge for a weekly television series. A single episode costs four million dollars to produce.
The pre-DVR numbers made the once critically-revered "Heroes" look as if it would finally be cancelled after two horrific seasons. But the show is still not safe, which reveals that DVR numbers aren't a show's saving grace and, seemingly, prolong the inevitable.
Other shows aided by DVR include "Melrose Place" and "Smallville," but those shows are not expected to last beyond their current television season.
The reason for this, it seems, is that overnight numbers are still the most important, for various reasons, which first and foremost include advertisers, but DVR numbers are important enough to warrant renewal for a struggling series like "Dollhouse" because there's potential to profit off of iTunes downloads, DVD sales, and other similar outlets.
But if DVR numbers are good enough to give a show another six to thirteen episodes, then that's good enough. For now.
Chris Monigle is a fifth-year student majoring in Literature. He can be reached at CM660983@wcupa.edu.
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posted 11/02/09 @ 5:52 PM EST
Quote:
"Dollhouse" performed remarkably well when its DVR numbers were released. The show's ratings averaged a 40% bump from live-plus-same-day to live-plus-7. (Continued…)
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