Lower TV ratings reflect new viewing habits
Many new shows this season are doing well, but viewers continue to flee prime time
Even ABC’s new hit The Good Doctor could not stem the bleeding of viewers during the broadcast networks’ premiere week of the 2017-18 television season.
The medical series starring Freddie Highmore ( Bates Motel) as a young surgical resident with autism opened with 11.4 million viewers Sept. 25. In its second week, Doctor held nearly steady with 10.9 million, another good sign.
But network ratings were down overall from last year’s season opening week, reflecting long-term changes in television viewing habits, analysts said.
CBS won premiere week, Sept. 25 to Oct. 1, with an average of 9.5 million viewers, according to Nielsen, down 15 per cent from last year.
It had another one of the new season’s hits, the Big Bang Theory spinoff Young Sheldon, which claimed 17.2 million same-day viewers in its debut on Sept. 25, ranking No. 2 for the week behind Big Bang’s 17.7 million.
( Sheldon also did well for CTV, averaging 1.5 million viewers aged 25 to 54, an advertiser-coveted demographic. The comedy won’t be back until Nov. 2, when it moves along with Big Bang to Thursdays.)
NBC came in second on premiere week, with 7.8 million viewers, down 11 per cent from a year ago. ABC ranked third with 5.8 million viewers, down 1 per cent, while Fox saw a 14 per cent drop with 3.1 million viewers.
NBC at least had some early good news with the revival of Will & Grace, as 10.2 million fans tuned in to watch the foursome reunite, 11 years after the show left the air.
NBC was also the leader in the 18 to 49 age group that advertisers covet most with 2.7 million viewers (a 16-per-cent decline from last season), followed by CBS (2.4 million, down 24 per cent), ABC (1.7 million, even with last year), Fox (1.3 million, down 18 per cent) and CW (292,000, down 10 per cent).
Brian Hughes, senior vice-president of audience intelligence for the media buying firm Magna Global, said the downturn for premiere week isn’t surprising.
“It’s a continuation of a trend of what we saw last season,” Hughes said.
The number of people watching TV in prime time has declined steadily over the last five years with the emergence of streaming video, especially among viewers under 35. Among the 18 to 49 age group, prime-time viewing dropped 8 per cent compared to premiere week last year. Many of the network programs gain a significant amount of audience when delayed viewing on DVR playback and video on demand is added into the ratings totals.
A majority of the deals with advertisers are based on how many people watched the commercials in the shows within three or seven days of their initial airing. The networks are also selling more commercials on their online viewing platforms for their programs.
Despite the same-day ratings declines, there were bright spots.
ABC appears to have its first big hit drama in several seasons with The Good Doctor, which also did well for CTV.
It was the second highest season debut for the Canadian network, behind Young Sheldon, and averaged 873,000 viewers 25 to 54.
CBS has already picked up the show for a full season.
That network’s SEAL Team, with David Boreanaz ( Bones) as the head of a special ops forces unit, which also airs on Global, scored 9.9 million U.S. viewers in its premiere.
NBC was less successful with The Brave, another special ops-themed drama that opened with 6 million viewers in its first week, dropping significantly from its lead-in, The Voice.
ABC’s Ten Days In the Valley, a serialized show about a kidnapped child that also airs on CTV, drew a modest 3.4 million U.S. viewers in its Sunday premiere. With files from USA Today