If you haven't heard by now, Hannibal is the best new broadcast network drama of the 2012-2013 season.
This series from Bryan Fuller (Dead Like Me, Wonderfalls, Pushing Daisies) airs Thursdays at 10/9c on NBC.
It started its 13-episode first season on 4th April and it ends the day after tomorrow. It has been renewed for a 13-episode second season to air at some point in 2014.
Ratings-wise, it's not a hit. After a very promising start in NBC's doomed time slot (filled with cancellations and flops since ER ended in March 2009), Hannibal's ratings started slipping.
Now, NBC can't help it if other networks have big guns (Elementary, Scandal, NFL draft, NBA games, etc.). But they are the ones programming the show in that slot, they're the ones who decided to air the last 5 episodes after the 2012/2013 season is over, they chose (in collaboration with Fuller, granted) not to air episode 1.04. And they can't help it if Mr. Nielsen and his family don't watch great series live.
And yet, Hannibal has been renewed. It's a bit of a surprise when you just look at the ratings, and since I love the show and love the fact that it's coming back for season 2, I felt like looking at the evolution of its ratings throughout these past 11 weeks.
— Therefore, here are the ratings of the first season of Hannibal :
Episode 1.01 (4th April - Apéritif) : 4.36 million viewers (1.6% on A18-49).
Episode 1.02 (11th April - Amuse-Bouche) : 4.38 million viewers (1.7% on A18-49).
Episode 1.03 (18th April - Potage) : 3.51 million viewers (1.4% on A18-49).
Episode 1.04 (Unaired - Œuf).
Episode 1.05 (25th April - Coquilles) : 2.40 million viewers (1.0% on A18-49).
Episode 1.06 (2nd May - Entrée) : 2.61 million viewers (1.1% on A18-49).
Episode 1.07 (9th May - Sorbet) : 2.62 million viewers (1.1% on A18-49).
Episode 1.08 (16th May - Fromage) : 2.46 million viewers (1.1% on A18-49).
Episode 1.09 (23rd May - Trou Normand) : 2.69 million viewers (1.0% on A18-49).
Episode 1.10 (30th May - Buffet Froid) : 2.40 million viewers (1.0% on A18-49).
Episode 1.11 (6th June - Rôti) : 2.36 million viewers (0.9% on A18-49).
Episode 1.12 (13th June - Relevés) : 2.10 million viewers (0.7% on A18-49).
Episode 1.13 (20th June - Savoureux) : 1.98 million viewers (0.8% on A18-49).
— Average of season 1 (Addition) : 2.82 million viewers (1.12% on A18-49).
Important : the average of episodes 1.01 to 1.09 is 1.25% on A18-49 but when you add Live+7 DVR ratings, Hannibal gets a 77% increase leading to a healthy 2.3% on A18-49 (for instance, Law & Order SVU gets to 2.5% on A18-49 after Live+7 ratings are taken into account, not that much more). It's the biggest post airdate increase of all programs on broadcast networks, ahead of the runner-up, Grimm and its 75% increase between Live + Same Day Ratings and Live + 7 Day ratings (+1.2% from 1.6% to 2.8%). Other NBC shows with big DVR bumps include Revolution (+1.7% (= +68%) from 2.5% to 4.2%) and Parenthood (+1.0% (= +58%) from 1.8% to 2.8%).
— A few details about these ratings :
Episode 4 did not air.
- During the 2012/2013 season :
Episodes 1 & 2 aired after originals of Go On (1.1% & 1.1% on A18-49).
Episodes 3, 5 & 6 aired after originals of Parks & Rec season 5 (1.7, 1.3 & 1.6% on A18-49).
Episodes 7 & 8 aired after the final two one-hour episodes of The Office season 9 (2.3% & 3.0% on A18-49).
Episodes 1, 5, 6, 7 & 8 were up against originals of Elementary on CBS (2.1, 2.0, 2.0, 1.9 & 2.0% on A18-49).
Episodes 1, 5, 6, 7 & 8 were up against originals of Scandal season 2 on ABC (2.6, 2.8, 2.6, 3.2, 3.2% on A18-49).
- During summer season :
Episodes 9 & 10 were up against originals of Rookie Blue season 4 on ABC (1.2 & 1.2% on A18-49).
Episodes 11, 12 & 13 are up against the NBA Finals on ABC (5.7%, 6.7% & 10.6% on A18-49).
Episodes 9, 10, 11, 12 & 13 aired after repeats of Parks & Rec season 5 (0.7, 0.8, 0.7, 0.5 & 0.5 on A18-49).
Cable opponents :
Episodes 1 & 2 were up against Archer season 4 on FX (0.8% & 1.1% on A18-49).
Episode 5 was up against the NFL draft on ESPN (2.9% on A18-49).
Episodes 6, 8, 10 were up against the NBA playoffs on TNT (2.0, 1.9 & 3.7% on A18-49).
Episodes 1 to 11 were up against Men at Work season 2 on TBS (average of 0.7-0.8% on A18-49).
Episodes 11, 12 & 13 were up against Graceland on USA (0.8%, 0.8% & 0.7 on A18-49).
Cable repeats up against Hannibal throughout its run include NCIS (USA, ~0.5%) and American Dad (Adult Swim, ~0.8%), as well as unscripted programs such as Chasing Tail/Pawn Stars (History, ~0.8%).
Bottom line is, Hannibal didn't get renewed because of its live ratings. Huge DVR bump + critical acclaim + fan acclaim + prestigious cast + international co-production + 13-episode midseason order + NBC's desperate state = that's probably the winning formula in this case.
Source.
PS : Click to enlarge the promotional cast photos.
PS2 :
Thanks for this! I hope next year they try to put it elsewhere, but I'm glad, much like Revolution, that it's DVDR ratings are high and that seemingly NBC cares about that.
ReplyDeleteI was always excited about it from the beginning being both a film and novel fan of all of Hannibal Lecter, but Fuller's prequel to Red Dragon IS SO MUCH BETTER than I could have possibly hoped for, that I wish I could see M.M. go through the whole series! I love that they do not shy away from the films and novels either, as Fuller keeps the allusions to those other things alive and within this work! I;m proud of NBC for having serialized dramas back on their station and are willing to give them a real chance.
1.11 million viewers dropped out between episode 3 and episode 5. I wonder if there would have been less of a drop if episode 4 had aired.
ReplyDeleteProbably. There were a lot of viewers (not myself) upset about it. I'm curious if it will be on the DVD/Blu Ray...
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine it won't be on the DVD, considering it aired internationally and is currently available on itunes and amazon.
ReplyDeleteThis show is honestly the best one for me right now. I'm pretty sure there would have been less of a drop, if 4 had aired, but there's nothing we can do about it now. Still happy for season 2.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Before they announced the airdate for Hannibal, I was literally chanting "just not Thursdays at 10pm, anything but Thursdays at 10pm." They haven't had a hit there since ER and haven't successfully launched a new show in that timeslot in about 4 years. Add to that going up against two established shows and after a 2 hour comedy block and you have a recipe for a low rated show.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad the show has been renewed for S2, because this is my favorite new show of the season and it may just end up being my favorite show currently airing. But NBC better not make the same mistake as they did this season: Hold the show without an airdate and just wait for a freshman show to be cancelled, before shoving Hannibal in that timeslot without rhyme or reason. I'm willing to wait a bit longer and have them make it a summer show- True Blood does fine in the summer, FX and USA have summer shows. That way there'll also be less pressure ratings-wise.
Hannibal deserves more. I'm not expecting to get Fuller's full vision (7 seasons.... And a cookbook) but I at least need them to get to S4 and cover Red Dragon.
It will be.
ReplyDeleteThe full 43-minute episode is available on Amazon I know.
Nice write up Bunk...
ReplyDeleteI'm glad it got renewed despite the poor ratings, but I hope NBC gives it a better time slot and lead-in next year. I'm not sure a second season of like numbers will lead to another renewal.
It's sad that this incredible show doesn't have more viewers. I'm happy that it was renewed for season two, and I hope the viewers increase :) GO HANNIBAL!
ReplyDeleteYes Bunk definitely the best new broadcast drama in many years. I wish the ratings were stronger but thank god for international sales I think in this case it actually worked. Hoping that somehow its not DOA next season and people pick it up between seasons and realise how terrific it is.
ReplyDeleteNot one of the episodes this season has dissapointed me. It is one of the few shows were all the episodes have had a certain standard.
ReplyDeleteI don´t live in the states, so I am not able to watch it live. I really wish I could have helped the rates go up. It is such good news that it got renewed despite the bad ratings. I cannot wait to see what they have in store for us next season. Hopefully in a different timeslot and with Gillian Anderson promoted to series regular.
I think it helps the show a lot that it's a co-production with AXN. AXN is a cable channel in most of South America and Europe so I think that will always help the show. But I don't know if the international ratings are good.
ReplyDeleteYou know if you're gonna downvote my comment the least you could do is reply why you did so. Don't hide behind the little down arrow and speak up. I have really liked the show as you all have I just think there were 25 shows that were better this year. I'm waiting to see the finale to officially place in my top 50 if they blow me away with the finale then it'll jump up the list. If you want me to post my entire top 50 so you can compare them all just ask.
ReplyDeleteI didn't downvote you but there is no need to take this personally. You are on an article written specifically for Hannibal fans by one of its biggest fans that highlights statistics that mean absolutely nothing (live +7 ratings - shakes head) in order to laud a favorite show. What do you expect? This post is meant to give fans a chance to pour accolades on the show and probably to get new people to try it out. A downvote simply means they don't agree. It's not a personal attack.
ReplyDeleteSeeing 8 downvotes and no upvotes certainly made it seem personal. The only I disagreed with was that I didn't think it was the best new show of the year. I think The Newsroom was the best new show of the year with The Following 2nd. I watched over 80 TV shows this year and that's not counting the shows that I watched a couple episodes of thought it was terrible and stopped watching if that was the case it would be over 100. I think that gives me a great opinion of what I thought the top 50 shows are this year.
ReplyDeleteI gave you an upvote. I don't agree with your list either, but that's just my opinion. In terms of actual viewer entertainment (as opposed to Emmy-critic-snobbery), I would say Arrow and Elementary are the best new shows: both are slickly-produced, action-packed, compelling-character dramas that took off when they embraced their serialized elements. As far as Emmy-critic-snobbery goes, though, the best new show is probably the Americans or Orphan Black. Again, just my opinion, but I really feel Hannibal is critically overrated.
ReplyDeleteI don't disagree at all that you are qualified to make your own top 50 show list. In fact I think it would be a great idea for a round table article where a lot of people contributed what they think the best TV of the year was. I guess in some way that's what the Best Show competition tries to pull in, although it also includes past shows too. Probably the closest thing Spoiler has is the scene of the week posts.
ReplyDeleteNo one's saying you are not qualified to talk TV or your opinion about it. No one's saying you shouldn't give your opinion here or on other articles. I'm just saying that it's not unusual on a post specifically created to laud a particular show that you were downvoted for not agreeing with it. It's not personal. It happens to a lot of us for a lot of shows.
I think doing a post where everyone submits what they thought their top 10 shows of the year since I doubt everyone watches as many as I do then we use a point system 10 points for first and so on would be a great idea.
ReplyDelete"statistics that mean absolutely nothing (live +7 ratings - shakes head)"
ReplyDeleteDon't shake your head, they mean something. I wrote "Live +7 Ratings" after writing "Live + 7-Day DVR ratings" a couple of times, people on TVBTN write it like that. It means people who watch an episode via their DVR during the week after the episode aired are taken into account in Live + 7 Ratings.
For instance, let's take episode 1.09 of Hannibal, which aired May 23 : the Adults 18-49 share on this episode was 1.0% on the live airing of Thursday 10 pm. And then, from May 24 to May 30, the equivalent of 0.9% of Adults 18 to 49 watched it on their own time thanks to their DVR. That's a 90% bump.
In this case, this statistics does mean a whole lot, because if it weren't for DVR, if it weren't for the fact that a lot of Hannibal viewers don't watch the show live but they're watching it at some point during the next few days, Hannibal could have probably gotten cancelled. It's probably one of the factors that helped renew it, alongside a few others I mentioned in the original post.
And I did this post because I'm a fan, that's true, but also because Hannibal is a great example of how a great but very low-rated show (live ratings, I mean) managed to stay alive on a broadcast network despite being a timeslot that has been doomed for the past 4 years.
Looking at the ratings of the lowest-rated drama of the Big Four to get renewed piqued my curiosity, and since I for one don't keep in mind what were the ratings of the previous 11 weeks, writing their evolution in a single post didn't seem like a bad idea.
And Ralph, I didn't downvote your post. Hannibal fans just wanted to show they disagree with you when you say The Newsroom or The Following are better shows, don't take it personally.
It's actually pretty impressive that you manage to watch 80 TV shows in a year. I don't agree with The Newsroom being the second best show of the year though, or the second best new show, because even if it had its chunks of brilliance there were many uninteresting soapy B-stories around them, and there was a lot of room for improvement. The Following was a huge disappointment given that it had all the ingredients for being a good show. Bates Motel as #21 and Last Resort as #22... yeah, I could agree with that, they were great. Eventually maybe DarkUFO will create a thread for us all to post our top 10, 20, 50 of the season, and you'll post yours, I'll be interested to see it (I can't possibly do mine now given how much i have to catch up on, you must have found a way to bend time ^^).
Okay, you've got it. I'll do it. My huge Supernatural quotes contest kicks off next week so it will take me a little while to get it together but I will have nomination forms ready by the end of the week. Maybe have nominations open for two weeks or so and then I'll write up an article at the end. However. I will limit it to 5 shows so that it isn't quite as overwhelming to tabulate. Sound good?
ReplyDeleteLive +7 ratings do not make the network money. Period. Therefore to assume that Hannibal got renewed because of DVR usage is highly skeptical. As a matter of fact, all DVR use is highly questionable for networks because advertisers don't like to pay when people skip the commercials as is the case in most DVR watching. If you go to TVbtN, then you know that most people consider Live +7 numbers as purely PR and not a real factor of anything. Certainly not credible numbers for a business to make business decisions on and TV is most definitely a business. Its advertisers are the client (not the fans) and advertisers do not look at live +7 numbers.
ReplyDeleteHannibal is a midseason show that can be placed anywhere on the schedule on a network that is trying to keep from dying. It is the classic example of schedule spackle. Its job is to replace whatever new show is going to die spectacularly for NBC next season or fill in holes so there aren't a lot of repeats. It also has critical acclaim which is something that very little on NBC has gotten in the last few years. In that way it is more like The Good Wife which continued to be renewed on CBS with so-so ratings but Emmy love.
Just so you know I start counting the shows I watch from last June until the end of this May like the way the Emmy voters do it but I wait for a show to finish like Mad Men and Hannibal before I post my list my Facebook page and a Facebook group that I run with a few other people Dashawns2cents. What makes it even more impressive is I can only DVR 2 shows at the same time and during a normal week when the 5 major networks are airing shows every night I average 30-40 shows a week.
ReplyDeleteI did some checking and of the canceled NBC dramas the only one with demo ratings (which usually mirror C3 ratings - the only ones that matter at all) even close to Hannibal during the regular broadcast season was Deception. All the others did far, far worse. Deception aired before the typical Daylight Savings Time slump while Hannibal airs at a time when the number of people watching TV goes down all across the board. If, after looking at their pilots, they decided they needed extra wiggle room on the schedule it makes sense that they chose Hannibal.
ReplyDeleteYeah it sounds good but I think limiting it to 5 eliminates a lot of good shows. Maybe do a overall top 5 but include a top 5 dramas and top 5 comedies as well cause my top 5 wouldn't include any comedies at all as I think dramas have been so much better then comedies this year. Only 18 of my top 50 are comedies.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree, especially about the Gillian Anderson promotion!! -I think it makes sense that she will, because her surname seems like reference to a great horror-romance-mystery novelist, one of which pertains to birds...
ReplyDeleteBryan said it will be. :)
ReplyDeletewhatever got it a second season is good for me. shame on nbc for the bad time slot, next year they would be wise to move it elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteReally dude ? The show was a HUGE FLOP. Its renewal was a big mistake. I mean .. DVR numbers are irrelevant. Best TV-Show for the season. B**** please... NASHVILLE was WAY BETTER.
ReplyDeleteI haven't forgotten about your idea. It's just that Andy, the site owner is on vacation, and I want to get his okay first. Plus I was thinking it would be better to do it after the Favorite Show competition.
ReplyDeleteCool. Thanks! I just never got around to checking.
ReplyDeleteI am with you Veronika,
ReplyDelete