Ratings and Scheduling: Hail to the Gods

[BkWurm1]

I found the fun fact interesting.  

[Starfish35]

Midseason ratings update - I’m just killing some time right now and thought this might be interesting.  The first number is the season-to-date 18-49 avg, the second  number is the year to year decline, and the third number is the season viewer average to date. All numbers taken from Spotted Ratings.

• The Flash - 0.66, -26%, 1.790 million.
• Arrow - 0.44, -14%, 1.315 million.
• Riverdale - 0.44, -24%, 1.294 million.
• Supernatural - 0.42, -29%, 1.470 million.
• Supergirl - 0.41, -26%, 1.360 million.
• Charmed - 0.34, N/A, 1.079 million.
• Legacies - 0.33, N/A, 1.094 million.
• Black Lightning - 0.33, -44%, 1.041 million.
• Legends of Tomorrow - 0.31, -43%, 0.950 million.
• All American - 0.24, N/A, 0.698 million.
• Dynasty - 0.18, -21%, 0.602 million.
• Crazy Ex-Girlfriend - 0.14, -36%, 0.420 million.

I’d say Arrow, ratings-wise, is doing quite well this year.

Edited December 20, 2018 by Starfish35

[Mary0360]

That's a pretty big margin between Arrows ratings declines and the other shows. Wow. 

[Starfish35]

It could possibly be due in part to the time-slot change.  Arrow took a hit last year when they moved to the later time slot; it’s possible moving back to 8:00 pm, even on a different day, has helped them out.  

I’m not discounting any other factors that might be considered; just saying that might be part of it.

[tv echo]

Arrow Season 7 Recap: Doin’ Hard Time with CW’s Emerald Archer (BC Rewind)
Posted by Joey Mills December 21, 2018 
https://www.bleedingcool.com/2018/12/21/arrow-season-7-rewind/

Quote

Under new showrunner Beth Schwartz, Arrow is having a bit of a resurgence on the CW. Typically as a series ages, the viewership numbers trend downward, which has been true for Arrow… until this seventh season. On average, Arrow season seven is up between 3% and 4% in both total viewership and in the coveted 18-49 year old demos over season six.

Edited December 22, 2018 by tv echo

[Starfish35]

Live+7 Ratings for the week of December 10-16 (Programming Insider):

• Arrow - 1.29, 3.462 million (#709 - Elseworlds Part 2).
• Supergirl (S) - 1.27, 3.529 million [Elseworlds Part 3].
• Riverdale - 0.90, 2.283 million.
• Supernatural - 0.73, 2.228 million.
• Legends of Tomorrow - 0.67, 1.843 million.
• Legacies - 0.58, 1.764 million.
• Black Lightning - 0.58, 1.702 million.
• All American - 0.37, 1.047 million.

Edited December 26, 2018 by Starfish35

[olicityfan25]

The power of Felicity being in the second episode.

[Primal Slayer]

Midseason Report Card: What Are The CW's Best & Worst Rated Shows?

https://tvline.com/2018/12/28/ratings-2018-2019-tv-season-cw-best-worst/

[BkWurm1]

Is it  just me or did the way they spoke about Arrow and the shows above and below Arrow seem to skew anti-Arrow just a bit?

  I mean here we have the only show that has a ratings gain over their run the previous season and is tied for second highest rating on average and instead of making a comment about those positive facts, they instead made sure to point out that Supergirl last year in the same time slot was doing better though of course even if Supergirl was still on Mondays we know it likely would have dropped as well.   And they toss in All American with a positive 14 percent gain over the show previously in the slot even though  listing the change between separate shows is inconsistent with most of the other changes listed and AA is the third least watched show.  Seems odd to me.  

Edited December 28, 2018 by BkWurm1

[Morrigan2575]

Kind of. I mean you look at BL which dropped 41% Y2Y and they ignore the negative.  Kind of like every other show they followed the if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. With Arrow it was like oh it's a positive change so lets point out something negative 😁

Also, did Charmed, Legacies or All American get extra episode orders? I remember seeing something about extra script order but, I don't think that's an official episode order extension.

Edited December 28, 2018 by Morrigan2575

[quarks]

6 minutes ago, Morrigan2575 said:

Kind of. I mean you look at BL which dropped 41% Y2Y and they ignore the negative.  Kind of like every other show they followed the if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. With Arrow it was like oh it's a positive change so lets point out something negative 😁

Also, did Charmed, Legacies or All American get extra episode orders? I remember seeing something about extra script order but, I don't think that's an official episode order extension.

Not an extra episode order, exactly - all three originally got nine episode orders, and then got full 22 episode orders in November. To be honest, I think that says a lot less about Charmed, Legacies and All-American and a lot more about the CW's lack of confidence in In the Dark and Roswell.

I am amused by the "steady since week 3" description for Charmed. I mean, that's not wrong, but the show has only aired nine episodes. Let's not rush to conclusions here.

[Morrigan2575]

Thanks. I didn't realize they got back 9 pick ups. Last I saw was October script orders.

ETA: OK finally found it (had to google back 9 pick up). So Charmed got a full season order and Legacies and All American got 3 extra episodes going to 16 total. 

Edited December 29, 2018 by Morrigan2575

[Starfish35]

1 hour ago, Morrigan2575 said:

So Charmed got a full season order and Legacies and All American got 3 extra episodes going to 16 total. 

Yeah.  Jane the Virgin will replace All American (which surprised me - I thought it would replace Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), and In the Dark will replace Legacies (Source).

[Primal Slayer]

3 hours ago, BkWurm1 said:

Is it  just me or did the way they spoke about Arrow and the shows above and below Arrow seem to skew anti-Arrow just a bit?

  I mean here we have the only show that has a ratings gain over their run the previous season and is tied for second highest rating on average and instead of making a comment about those positive facts, they instead made sure to point out that Supergirl last year in the same time slot was doing better though of course even if Supergirl was still on Mondays we know it likely would have dropped as well.   And they toss in All American with a positive 14 percent gain over the show previously in the slot even though  listing the change between separate shows is inconsistent with most of the other changes listed and AA is the third least watched show.  Seems odd to me.  

If a show moved to a different timeslot they compared it to the show that was in its place a year ago, they didnt Arrow any different from any other show that did the same.

[tv echo]

As reported in the Starling City Times thread, Arrow will be moving to 9pm (ET) on Mondays starting April 15, following a two-week break.

Also, this is interesting - Arrow is now tied for 2nd in average demo ratings for all CW shows:
https://www.spoilertv.com/2018/10/the-spoilertv-broadcast-tv-18-49.html

Quote

The SpoilerTV Broadcast TV 18-49 Average Demo Ratings Scorecard 2018/19
Last Updated : 9th January 2019
*  *  *
CW
Show                              Season AVG     Network Average
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend          0.130        
Dynasty                           0.180
All American                   0.250
Legends of Tomorrow    0.310
Charmed                         0.320
Legacies                          0.330
Black Lightning               0.330                   0.353
Supergirl                         0.420
Supernatural                   0.420
Riverdale                         0.430
Arrow                             0.430
The Flash                         0.690

Edited January 10, 2019 by tv echo

[way2interested]

So that means one week break after 715, two week break after 718, and then 719-722 straight through?

[Morrigan2575]

1 minute ago, way2interested said:

So that means one week break after 715, two week break after 718, and then 719-722 straight through?

Sounds about right. Although in the past it was swapped, a 2 week break after Feb Sweeps and another 1-2 week break after x18 depending on the planned May finale.

[BunsenBurner]

15 minutes ago, tv echo said:

As reported in the Starling City Times thread, Arrow will be moving to 9pm (ET) on Mondays starting April 15, following a two-week break.

 

Does this mean some sexy times are coming? 

 

One can can only hope

[jay741982]

1 hour ago, BunsenBurner said:

 

Does this mean some sexy times are coming? 

 

One can can only hope

Let's remain hopeful lol. Last time it was at 9 we got Nada 

[BkWurm1]

2 hours ago, BunsenBurner said:

 

Does this mean some sexy times are coming? 

 

 

Or a guarantee that Legends isn't getting any 

[Mellowyellow]

I thought Flash was supposed to help Legends with the ratings?

So weird to switch at almost the end of the season. 

[Morrigan2575]

Or neither? TVD had plenty of sex scenes and they were in the 8PM hour. 

8PM vs 9PM doesn't matter

[Starfish35]

12 minutes ago, Mellowyellow said:

I thought Flash was supposed to help Legends with the ratings?

So weird to switch at almost the end of the season. 

Do you mean last season?  Legends wasn’t ever supposed to be paired with The Flash this season.  

What’s kind of odd is that Legends at 8:00 and Arrow at 9:00 was the originally announced fall schedule, and then they switched them. 

Edited January 10, 2019 by Starfish35

[Mellowyellow]

1 minute ago, Starfish35 said:

Do you mean last season?  Legends wasn’t ever supposed to be paired with The Flash this season.  

So it's not this season? I keep thinking it airs after Flash but I don't watch Flash so I may just be watching Legends and assuming Flash was shown before it. 

[Starfish35]

Just now, Mellowyellow said:

So it's not this season? I keep thinking it airs after Flash but I don't watch Flash so I may just be watching Legends and assuming Flash was shown before it. 

No, it’s been airing after Arrow on Mondays this season.  It got bumped to Mondays last year when Black Lightning took the post-Flash spot, and filled in at 8:00 during the Supergirl hiatus.  This year Black Lightning is the one getting pushed to Mondays by the Roswell reboot.  

[Mellowyellow]

@Starfish35 haha well there's the proof I watch none of those shows live😂

I had no idea it was on after Arrow.  If I'm not late watching LoT (sometimes I watch much later in the week) I watch it at the same night I used to watch Flash so in my head it was on Flash night!

[Morrigan2575]

8 minutes ago, Starfish35 said:

No, it’s been airing after Arrow on Mondays this season.  It got bumped to Mondays last year when Black Lightning took the post-Flash spot, and filled in at 8:00 during the Supergirl hiatus.  This year Black Lightning is the one getting pushed to Mondays by the Roswell reboot.  

Huh. Why did I think the Roswell reboot was going after SPN? 

[Velocity23]

Just now, Morrigan2575 said:

Huh. Why did I think the Roswell reboot was going after SPN? 

Maybe the Julie Plec connection. Since her show Legacies is after SPN.

[Starfish35]

Looks like In The Dark is going after SPN starting April 4, after Legacies wraps up.  Must be the show they had the least confidence in?  (because of the late start, not because of it following SPN.)

Edited January 10, 2019 by Starfish35

[calliope1975]

Is a time change normal in the middle of a season? Oh well, at least I won't have to come up with excuses to leave early or watch it in my office so I can live blog.

[quarks]

52 minutes ago, Starfish35 said:

Looks like In The Dark is going after SPN starting April 4, after Legacies wraps up.  Must be the show they had the least confidence in?  (because of the late start, not because of it following SPN.)

It's the show I have the least confidence in!  

[Lady Calypso]

It's definitely questionable as to why they're switching Legends and Arrow's timeslots once Legends comes back, but maybe they think that Arrow does better at 9pm while Legends does better at 8pm. Arrow has definitely done decently in both times, so maybe they're hoping for Legends to get a ratings boost by moving it back to 8pm. 

1 hour ago, Starfish35 said:

Looks like In The Dark is going after SPN starting April 4, after Legacies wraps up.  Must be the show they had the least confidence in?  (because of the late start, not because of it following SPN.)

In The Dark has had 0.01% press about the show so far so it shouldn't surprise The CW when it likely bombs, even after Supernatural. 

Taking a look at The CW schedule for the next few months, my brain hurts. So many show changes in the next four months which is hard to wrap my head around. I'm literally going to need to keep an eye out on what starts and ends when and on what day. 

[BkWurm1]

1 hour ago, calliope1975 said:

Is a time change normal in the middle of a season? Oh well, at least I won't have to come up with excuses to leave early or watch it in my office so I can live blog.

I don't think I've experienced it before.  I have to think it means at least that they have a lot of confidence in Arrow's ratings stability.    

[tv echo]

Here's ComicBook.com's reporting on the time change/break...'

'Arrow' Is Moving To A New Time
By RUSS BURLINGAME - January 10, 2019
https://comicbook.com/dc/2019/01/10/arrow-is-moving-to-a-new-time/

Quote

The change will put DC's Legends of Tomorrow in the 8 p.m. slot on Monday nights on The CW, where Arrow has lived since the fall. Arrow will move to 9 p.m., where Legends of Tomorrow has been airing so far.
*  *  *
The changes will take effect on April 1, when Legends of Tomorrow returns from its midseason hiatus. ...

Arrow will not air on April 1 or April 8, debuting in its new time slot on April 15.

These changes were announced today as part of The CW's Spring 2019 lineup, ... 

Edited January 11, 2019 by tv echo

[tv echo]

And here's Deadline's report...

The CW Sets Spring Premiere Dates: ‘Jane The Virgin’ & ‘iZombie’ Final Seasons, ‘Legends Of Tomorrow’ & ‘The 100’ Return
by Nellie Andreeva and Mark Dent  January 10, 2019 
https://deadline.com/2019/01/the-cw-spring-premiere-dates-jane-the-virgin-izombie-final-seasons-dcs-legends-of-tomorrow-arrow-1202532950/

Quote

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, which came off the schedule in December to make room for the displaced Black Lightning, will return April 1 to its previous night, Monday, but shifting from 9 PM to 8 PM. It will switch places with Arrow, which will slide to 9 PM Arrow will be preempted on April 1 for an April Fools Day Penn & Teller: Fool Us special and will air a rerun on April 8 against the NCAA mens basketball championship game before returning to originals in its new berth on April 15.
*  *  *
MONDAY, APRIL 1
8:00-9:00 PM DC’S LEGENDS OF TOMORROW (New Time / New Episode)
9:00-10:00 PM PENN & TELLER: FOOL US SPECIAL
*  *  *
MONDAY, APRIL 15
8:00-9:00 PM DC’S LEGENDS OF TOMORROW (New Episode)
9:00-10:00 PM ARROW (New Time / New Episode)

Edited January 11, 2019 by tv echo

[quarks]

23 hours ago, BkWurm1 said:

I don't think I've experienced it before.  I have to think it means at least that they have a lot of confidence in Arrow's ratings stability.    

I think it's more that most of Arrow's revenue comes from post-views, which are only indirectly related to US ratings/live views, so Arrow's ratings aren't their chief concern.

The same is true for Legends of Tomorrow, of course, but Legends of Tomorrow isn't licensed in as many international locations as Arrow, Flash, Riverdale and Dynasty are, and the DVDs/Blu-rays historically haven't sold as well as those from the other Arrowverse shows, although of course that may well change when this season's DVDs/Blu-rays are released next fall. So it's at least possible that US ad buys form a greater percentage of Legends of Tomorrow's revenue and are thus a somewhat bigger concern.

 

On 1/10/2019 at 7:13 PM, Lady Calypso said:

In The Dark has had 0.01% press about the show so far so it shouldn't surprise The CW when it likely bombs, even after Supernatural. 

 

That, and although CBS Television is the main distributor, apparently it isn't a CBS Television Studios or CBS subsidiary studio product, or even a Paramount production. It's from Ben Stiller's production company, Red Hour. They've previously created shows for Showtime, a CBS subsidiary, so this isn't totally out of left field, but it also isn't quite the usual CW thing of mostly airing in-house WB and CBS studio products and whatever The Outpost is/was.

That said, it looks like the CW is positioning the show more or less the same way they're positioning The Outpost - as part of offering year round original content for its affiliates. And that show got renewed, so perhaps we're all being overly pessimistic.

[Mary0360]

Do people even still buy DVDs these days? It feels to me like they are kind of becoming obselete. Like cds. 

[statsgirl]

I buy both DVDs and CDs of things I want to keep and re-watch or listen to later, just as I buy books that I can re-read like old friends. If it's only on-line, it can and most likely will disappear at some point.

Edited January 12, 2019 by statsgirl

[BkWurm1]

I only consider DVD or CD's for favorite things or artists at this point.  Eventually I'll buy up all the seasons of Arrow, just to have the physical access to it.  I agree, anything online, at some point if the platform goes under or just changes too much, it could vanish.  Plus my wifi can be spotty.  

[Starfish35]

Well, Showbuzz Daily seems to be running late this morning, so here’s the TVLine report:

Quote

THE CW | Arrow (1.25 mil/0.4, TVLine reader grade “B-“) returned down from its winter finale; Black Lightning(875K/0.3) was on par with time slot predecessor Legends of Tomorrow‘s fall average (950K/0.3), yet returned with its smallest audience ever.

For comparison purposes, Arrow’s last non-crossover episode got 0.5 and 1.345 million.

ETA:  And here’s the Showbuzz Daily chart finally. 

Edited January 22, 2019 by Starfish35
Adding Showbuzz Daily graphic

[SmallScreenDiva]

So pretty much in the range of ratings for this season. See, this is why IMO Arrow keeps pressing on with NTA and packing the show to the gills, because people still watch. The only time it lost a signifant audience was back in 416 and even then they kept Olicity apart for 2 seasons so clearly ratings don’t matter. 

[Starfish35]

Unrounded preliminary ratings:

Quote

Arrow ................................... 0.362 ... (0.384 ... 0.340)
Black Lightning .................... 0.290 ... (0.296 ... 0.283)

Source

[olicityfan25]

6 hours ago, SmallScreenDiva said:

So pretty much in the range of ratings for this season. See, this is why IMO Arrow keeps pressing on with NTA and packing the show to the gills, because people still watch. The only time it lost a signifant audience was back in 416 and even then they kept Olicity apart for 2 seasons so clearly ratings don’t matter. 

I guess but it doesnt take into account when people tune out. People keep watching (like me) because I've watched all the episodes from beginning. I tune out and go on my phone when NTA come on.

[Morrigan2575]

10 hours ago, olicityfan25 said:

I guess but it doesnt take into account when people tune out. People keep watching (like me) because I've watched all the episodes from beginning. I tune out and go on my phone when NTA come on.

Doesn't matter if you tune out and, hell the general audience might like all aspects of the show, including NTA. The ratings are solid, Arrow will finish the season in 3rd or 4th place for the Network, not that the CW or WB really cares about Live+SD or Live+7.  Unless the show stops selling overseas, or on Amazon/iTunes or DVDs it's a success and will probably go for 10 years provided SA is on board.

Edited January 23, 2019 by Morrigan2575

[Velocity23]

4 hours ago, Morrigan2575 said:

Doesn't matter if you tune out and, hell the general audience might like all aspects of the show, including NTA. The ratings are solid, Arrow will finish the season in 3rd or 4th place for the Network, not that the CW or WB really cares about Live+SD or Live+7.  Unless the show stops selling overseas, or on Amazon/iTunes or DVDs it's a success and will probably go for 10 years provided SA is on board.

WB seemed to remove their content for the digital versions of episodes. All DC shows on amazon prime are gone. So is TBBT. 

[insomniadreams88]

10 minutes ago, Velocity23 said:

WB seemed to remove their content for the digital versions of episodes. All DC shows on amazon prime are gone. So is TBBT. 

Yeah, I noticed that when I went to rewatch parts of 710 on Amazon Prime since I'd gotten the season pass when it was $3.99 at the beginning of the season. 

[Morrigan2575]

38 minutes ago, Velocity23 said:

WB seemed to remove their content for the digital versions of episodes. All DC shows on amazon prime are gone. So is TBBT. 

Probably trying to boost their DC Streaming Site.  I still think those aren't good business models but, Disney will probably get me money if they launch 1 streaming service for all Disney instead of 3 different ones (Marvel, Star Wars, Disney).  

Edited January 23, 2019 by Morrigan2575

[Primal Slayer]

Looks like I'll have to send an email to Amazon. Even though I only paid 3.99 for the season pass, I want what I was "promised" lol

[BkWurm1]

Did they remove purchased seasons from the past?

[Starfish35]

No, the episodes I had already purchased are still available.  But most WB content is no longer available for purchase, not just the DC shows.  Don’t know what’s going on there.  You can still buy the episodes on iTunes (I just checked), just not on Amazon.  

I think that all happened as of January 1st, because before then you could still buy the episodes.

Edited January 23, 2019 by Starfish35