Most of the big shows have reached the halfway point in their seasons which means it's time for the second quarter results analysis for most of the shows I cover and provide analysis for on my website, www.seriesmonitor.com, along with a few bonus extras
The first quarter results post I made on SpoilerTV is available here. In reading the second quarter results and comparing them to the first quarter, in addition to noting that circumstances have changed and information has become available that we didn't have back then, a few things must be acknowledged:
- The quarter averages are found by adding the ratings and audience numbers up from the episodes that aired in that quarter, then dividing by the number of episodes to get an average. The largest and smallest ratings and audience numbers come from only the episodes that aired in the second quarter. No episodes outside the second quarter episodes are counted
- A normal season will consist of 22 - 24 episodes. A 24 episode season will comprise of four quarters, each 6 episodes in length (6x6x6x6). A 23 episode season will comprise of three quarters of 6 episodes and a fourth of 5 episodes (6x6x6x5). A 22 episode season will comprise of two quarters of 6 episodes and two quarters of 5 episodes, alternating between them (6x5x6x5)
- All data is Live+SD ratings data. All shows except Elementary, Chicago Fire, NCIS: Los Angeles and Hawaii Five-0 have data I've personally collected myself, and can verify that it's final ratings data, not preliminary or fast ratings data. I can't guarantee that for the shows I just mentioned, because it comes from the SpoilerTV database
- Where possible, the second quarter results for the shows last season will be shown in the table in brackets beside the relevant number for this season. This enables you to compare the progress of the show this season compared to the same point this time last season
- Once Upon A Time is assumed to be having a 22 episode season this season, just like last season, and just like Revenge this season, which airs after OUaT and has been confirmed for 22 episodes. Chicago Fire is also assumed to be having a 22 episode season - according to The Futon Critic
- Scandal had its first season last year, but at just 7 episodes in length, couldn't be broken down into quarters. Therefore the table doesn't feature results from last season
- Revolution has been reduced to a 20 episode first season, meaning its 10 episodes that have aired to date constitute two quarters of 5 episodes each. Its second quarter stats are on the table
- Grey's Anatomy, and Glee will all feature on the table next week when they air one more episode to make up a full length second quarter. Spaces are available and will be filled when the full quarter data is available. Bones won't feature because it is airing a 26 episode season to make up for a shortened last season, meaning it has another couple of weeks to make up its second quarter
Now for the color codes used in the table, and their meaning:
White = the result from this quarter is DOWN on the results from the second quarter of its previous season
Orange = The LARGEST DROP in performance of all shows in a category. Basically, the whtie box in a category with the largest difference from last season to this season
Green = ANY INCREASE in performance by any show on the results from the second quarter of its previous season
Here is the table. Once again I remind you that a normal looking white box means the number is a decrease on last seasons's second quarter performance - not a good thing!
Much like the chart from the first quarter, which has a lot less shows on it due to uncertainty with some of the new shows and lack of data for others, there are some common trends between the two quarters.
Modern Family, Glee and The Mentalist are the three shows which have shared the largest drops in their first and second quarters compared to last season, with both shows dropping large ratings and audience numbers
The Big Bang Theory and Person of Interest increased their performance between the two seasons in every category. The Big Bang Theory did the same in the first quarter, with Person of Interest sweeping 5 out of the 6 last quarter. Good news for both shows
Revenge was up in 4 of 6 categories last quarter, but none this quarter. The graphs on this page show the drops in ratings and audience lately - with some series low performances thrown in as well
NCIS eclipsed its audience highs in both quarters this season compared to the quarters last season - with a series record audience last week to end the second quarter. It remained down everywhere else though
NCIS: Los Angeles - which didn't feature in the table last quarter - was up on all audience categories and down by a smaller margin than most on the ratings categories. It's a mixture of good and bad news
Once Upon A Time again failed to improve on second quarter performances in all categories compared to last season. The drop in these numbers hasn't been too severe, but these graphs show an ominous downward trend this season
Criminal Minds was also below last seasons second quarter performance in all categories, but by a smaller margin compared to the margins shown in its first quarter. Ratings decreases have been the better part of a full ratings point, but audience decreases have been marginal this quarter compared to those last quarter. These graphs don't make for positive reading, but ratings and audience are still better than most other shows out there this season
Hawaii Five-0 got off to a shaky start this season in terms of statistics but the second quarter, despite being better than the first (it was not on the first quarter table), it's still considerably down on the second quarter last season
UPDATE:
Castle this time joined the few shows that had a green box in their row, with an audience low that was higher this quarter than it was this time last season. Everything else is down though, with a decrease of around 0.4 of a ratings point and about 1 million viewers
Glee takes over from The Mentalist as the show that's lost the most in ratings for the second quarter. This wasn't helped by a series low 1.5 rating and 4.62 million viewers thanks to an NFL overrun. Glee also lost heavily in the audience statistics, but not to the same degree as The Mentalist
Grey's Anatomy has also had a hard time, well down on last seasons second quarter in all departments by some of the largest margins on the table. Grey's Anatomy also takes wins the title for the show which has the largest difference between the highest rating episode across the second quarter last season and this season.
So there you have it. If you have any questions just comment below and I'll try to answer them. Make sure you share your thoughts on your favorite shows and their ratings performances too!
For the raw data, graphs, and much more analysis on most of these shows, check out my website, www.seriesmonitor.com
Thanks for reading!
Jimmy
I was surprised checking into The Mentalist on GetGlue last Sunday and it was trending at 35 (which I know has nothing to do with ratings, but it's still a low spot for this show). I don't understand why CBS would put one of their better shows in a death spot like Sunday at 10, which keeps getting pushed back due to football.
ReplyDeleteThe Mentalist and Person of Interest were a force to be reckoned with last year, with POI as the lead-in, but instead CBS bumped The Mentalist off to Sundays so they could use POI as a lead-in for freshman Elementary. It worked, but its thrown The Mentalist to the dogs, which is daft considering it pulled double the audience it does today a couple of seasons back
ReplyDeleteAwesome work as always Jimmy, thanks for posting.
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure :-)
ReplyDeleteMany thanks Jimmy, AWESOME as usual.
ReplyDeleteGreat to hear :-) I'm also stoked for POI. The third quarter will be interesting because that's when POI rated best last season, averaging 3.2 and 14.7
ReplyDeleteGood Lord, TM on Sunday is doing great to air considering a competition like football! It's even doing better than TGW!
ReplyDeleteAlso, a show that airs at 10 p.m. on Sunday after football, it's the show with more audience on Sundays. Having 2 as ratings it's ok for CBS and that timeslot.
It might be ok from the point of view of CBS, but they've decimated the audience and ratings of what was a show pulling in double the audience a week a couple of years ago. I think it's a bad bit of scheduling
ReplyDeleteWith The Mentalist steadily showing lower viewer numbers, and now having been moved to graveyard Sunday, I wondered why it was already renewed for a Season 6 - according to several chart sites.
ReplyDeleteBut then I remember reading that some series show their best ROI when syndicated.
The Mentalist is already in Off-network syndication with TNT and having 5 seasons, it's also met the desired number of episodes for Daily syndication ...so perhaps it's lower ratings don't weigh in that much anymore. Plus it's reportedly one of the most DVR'd shows on TV.
(I certainly don't have any insider info, so my conclusions can be considered speculation.)
FYI: The Mentalist has not been renewed yet. No word yet of what will happen to it.
ReplyDeleteInteresting! I had thought it was a bit early yet... guess those sites are putting out incorrect info.
ReplyDeleteNo probs :)
ReplyDeleteWhich sites are you referring to? Can you post some links to their articles.