iRatings and Scheduling

[seamusk]

Initial ratings were 0.9. That's actually quite good for the CW. The 100 was renewed with 0.4-0.5 ratings. But it's a premier and most premiers have a drop off. So let's hope retention is high.

 

ETA: Just want to clarify, that's 0.9 in that most vital audience range of 18-49 year olds.

Edited March 18, 2015 by seamusk

[FurryFury]

Could be higher, but it's the retention that matters. Hope it settles at around 0.7.

[thuganomics85]

Yeah, for example, EW had a bit more of a negative spin on the ratings.  I don't know; I think it was solid for a premiere and I really don't think it's fair to assume it should retain that much of The Flash's ratings.  Both might be based on comics, but The Flash is way bigger then iZombie, I would think.  And, others could have been like me and switched to Agents of SHIELD live.

 

As usual, I think the upcoming weeks will determine how it fares.  Hopefully, it won't drop to much.  Then again, The CW renewed The 100, which I'm pretty sure loses almost half of Arrow's audience, so, again, I'm not worrying yet.

Edited March 18, 2015 by thuganomics85

[Sakura12]

I kind think this show would fit better on Netflix. But hopefully it at least steadies out in the ratings even if it never gets the big ratings. 

[seamusk]

That EW article is nonsense imo. It talks up Jane and the Virgin, which had much lower premier ratings if I recall correctly. And it currently has 0.5 ratings. 0.9 is a great start, but retention is always key. 

[thuganomics85]

Well, it sadly did drop down to 0.8 in the final ratings (while The Flash went up to 1.3), which I do find a bit worrying, but hopefully things will settle, and we'll get a clearer picture the next weeks.  It seems like the reception was positive enough, so hopefully it won't be too bad.

[Kromm]

I hope the ratings do retain (or somehow even go up based on the glowing reviews), because otherwise we'll have another Veronica Mars parallel (great reviews and viewer reactions and shit ratings).

[Morrigan2575]

That EW article is nonsense imo. It talks up Jane and the Virgin, which had much lower premier ratings if I recall correctly. And it currently has 0.5 ratings. 0.9 is a great start, but retention is always key. 

The EW article makes some valid points.  JTV scored a 0.5 behind The Originals which averages a 0.7-0.8 in the demo and never received the promotion that iZombie received from the network.  Additionally, iZombie was given the cushy spot behind The CW's highest rated show (The Flash) and only scored a 0.8 (pretty much what SPN was scoring in it's 10th season, in the same slot).  

 

Is iZombie done for?  No.  Were the premiere ratings outstanding?  No.  I'd say the ratings for iZombie were slightly disappointing for the network but most important is what happens next.  Where does the show settle?  More than likely it will get a 2nd season but when and where it lands on the schedule is questionable.

[FurryFury]

Originals is a spin-off with built-in fanbase, though. And I don't think they get .7s and .8s anymore - I think it's been more like .6s lately. I do agree .8 isn't good ratings for a premiere, which sucks, but the network has demonstrated it cares about quality too, not just ratings (they've renewed The 100).

[Sakura12]

If the 100 and JTV can be renewed with .05 or .04 ratings. As long as iZombie stays in that range it should be okay. I hope it does, I enjoyed it more than most shows I'm currently watching and that's after 1 episode. 

[Kromm]

The problem is more than Rob Thomas is cursed.  To writing brilliant stuff that's loved by a strong passionate minority.  And usually critics.  But to which the general public repeatedly seems immune to.

 

It's not even the venue.  He had the same problem on ABC. Twice.  With the SAME show! (the original Cupid, being totally brilliant, and the remake at least decent).

[Sakura12]

Maybe he should try Cable networks. This show could fit on Syfy or USA or something. And with Syfy even with low ratings he could at least get 5 seasons out of it. There is also Netflix and Amazon where he'd be guaranteed a full season. That's where most the shows I watch are because of the fact that I know I will at least get 2 seasons of show. Regular networks cancel all the time and made me stop watching their shows unless the premise really interests me. And most of the time I wait until they get picked up for season 2 before watching.  

Edited March 20, 2015 by Sakura12

[seamusk]

Maybe he should try Cable networks. This show could fit on Syfy or USA or something. And with Syfy even with low ratings he could at least get 5 seasons out of it. There is also Netflix and Amazon where he'd be guaranteed a full season. That's where most the shows I watch are because of the fact that I know I will at least get 2 seasons of show. Regular networks cancel all the time and made me stop watching their shows unless the premise really interests me. And most of the time I wait until they get picked up for season 2 before watching.  

The CW is as close as a network tv station gets to those. But I agree. Network tv shows are too fraught with early cancellations. I do the same thing with some shows. If it seems unlikely to be renewed I won't even give it a shot until it's renewed.

[Morgan of Hed]

So far no worries - the pilot got very good ratings.

[Kromm]

So far no worries - the pilot got very good ratings.

Not really. It didn't get dreadful ones, but they were on the so-so side for a premiere (vs. a later episode after a premiere, where that same number would be a good one--at least for The CW).

 

It's all about how much it retains from that premiere.  Most shows bleed viewers after a premiere, and on the CW its maybe even a bit worse for total viewers, although maybe not so bad for 18-49.

[Sakura12]

The Pilot is never that big a determining factor, we have to see how the 2nd and 3rd episode do. 

[FurryFury]

There is also Netflix and Amazon where he'd be guaranteed a full season.

 

Netflix has a very specific type of show they prefer (award bait mostly, except for the upcoming Marvel stuff). They all are probably good, but I don't think they'd ever pick a Rob Thomas show. Hell, I'm not sure they'd even take a Joss Whedon show.

I'm kinda sad about this fact, too - I just can't bring myself to watch any of their shows because they are all so far outside my interests.

[Morgan of Hed]

Not really. It didn't get dreadful ones, but they were on the so-so side for a premiere (vs. a later episode after a premiere, where that same number would be a good one--at least for The CW).

 

From this AdAge article:

 

 

According to Nielsen fast national data, the premiere of the CW's "iZombie" scared up 2.34 million viewers in the 9 p.m. time slot, making it the network's second most-watched series debut of the season. (Lead-in "The Flash" bowed on Oct. 7 to a network-record 4.83 million viewers.) With an average 0.9 in the adults 18-49 demo, "iZombie" not only tied the season average of time-slot precursor "Supernatural," but it also beat Fox's "New Girl" and "The Mindy Project" outright.

[Cranberry]

Here's a ratings topic; I had a feeling we might need it! Moved over some posts from the media and pilot threads; my apologies if it broke up the conversation a little.

[Sakura12]

I think the fact they are showing comic book shows, that Netflix is trying a wide variety of shows. They are still new to the TV show game and they don't have to stick any certain genre. Hemlock Grove a vampirish/werewolf show won't be winning any awards because that show is wackadoodle.  If Netflix can air that show they can air iZombie. The only shows that got nominations are House of Cards and Orange is the New Black. 

Edited March 20, 2015 by Sakura12

[FurryFury]

0.7 for the second episode, which is 0.1 lower than the finals for the pilot. Not a big dip, hope it won't get adjusted down though.

[Sakura12]

If it stays at 0.7 that's pretty good. It means people were interested in seeing the second episode.

[seamusk]

Yeah, 0.7 is good. The Cancellation Bear was thinking 0.6 would be toss up territory and they have renewed several shows with lower ratings than that. So this show even has room to drop a little imo. Though it does have a big lead in.

[Sakura12]

It looks like it stayed at 0.7 for the final ratings. That's good news, hopefully ep 3 is the same. 

[Sakura12]

Early ratings has 0.7 with the 18/49 demo. It will probably adjust down, but hopefully it stays at 0.7. Steady ratings are better then increases sometimes. 

 

It also looks like it's pretty even within the different age groups

Edited April 1, 2015 by Sakura12

[thuganomics85]

Still at a 0.7, after the final adjustments.  Next week might be interesting since there won't be a new Flash as it's lead-in, but hopefully it will stay in the general area, and not drop too badly.

[Sakura12]

Like I said steady is good. People are coming back for it. It doesn't retain that many viewers from the Flash, hopefully it won't matter. a 0.6 would be okay too. 

[Sakura12]

So far it's 0.7 again and that's without the Chicago market and the Flash lead in. 

Edited April 8, 2015 by Sakura12

[FurryFury]

Yay, that's impressive! Hope it won't get adjusted down, but even with -0.1, still a good showing. It's a pity it started out so low - it could be a pretty successful show otherwise.

 

Hope the network renews it at least for a half-season.

[seamusk]

Really great that it held steady sans The Flash lead in.  Yay!

[Sakura12]

Finals are in it stayed at 0.7 without a lead in. Steady 4 weeks in a row that's actually really good. 

[Kromm]

To be truly safe, I think they should be thinking ahead of time of a way to actually grow the audience, rather than fear an erosion.  Inevitably as you get more and more episodes into a show, people are afraid to jump in--although often there's an opportunity to do so at the beginning of a second season of a critical darling or award winner (or even after a mid-season break--what I'm sure The CW were counting on happening with Jane The Virgin's ratings... which didn't)

 

I dunno. Even though its deliberately quite radically a different show, I wish they could a few more Walking Dead fans. Not because I want this show to be anything like The Walking Dead, but just because even another solid million viewers, even spread across demographics, would help prop the show up a bunch.

 

Not that they were ever that large or loyal a crowd, but drawing in more Buffy and Angel fans would also seem to be a good thing.

[ljp]

To be truly safe, I think they should be thinking ahead of time of a way to actually grow the audience, rather than fear an erosion.  Inevitably as you get more and more episodes into a show, people are afraid to jump in--although often there's an opportunity to do so at the beginning of a second season of a critical darling or award winner (or even after a mid-season break--what I'm sure The CW were counting on happening with Jane The Virgin's ratings... which didn't)

I agree that I think it would be good if ratings grew. Although it's the CW 's own fault with Jane the virgin. After the award win only the first three episodes and the most recent few were available. I searched CW website, iPad app and Hulu because I was going to try to catch up, but there were like 3 episodes I would have had to pay for. While I'm perfectly aware how to find those episodes, not being able to get free and easy to stream to the TV turned me off so I didn't bother.

[Sakura12]

While, yes having higher ratings would be better. I think staying steady for 4 weeks in a row, one without the popular lead in show and the Chicago Market is very impressive. Most shows have a huge drop off after the first episode, the fact that the same amount of people have come back for 4 episodes is a good sign.

[Kromm]

The good news is that Hulu (so far) has everything but the most recent episode on free view.  So does CW's website, in fact.

 

The bad news is that so did Jane The Virgin at a comparable point, but when they got around 5-6 episodes is when they started knocking out/expiring certain episodes.

 

If you're going for the short-term iTunes like per episode revenue that's a fine strategy.  But if a network TV show is trying to creep up it's audience they not only need to protect the free view-ability of it for the season, they also need to advertise that that's happening, then push people towards the new broadcast episodes after they catch up.

 

Or once a whole season is done maybe there's a way to leverage that (with Jane The Virgin too). I mean the potential revenue from a Season 1 disc release really isn't that much anymore--at least until a show is gone and then becomes a cult hit in retrospect. Maybe to have some way to grant people a free online Season 1 pass and publicize the show by advertising that as a giveaway in Walmarts or something like that.

[kieyra]

FWIW, hearing more buzz about this than I did JTV. With JTV, I was always the one driving the conversation; with iZombie, it took multiple people prodding me before I would try it (I'm a vampire girl, not a zombie girl, it's just the way I'm built). But the point is, multiple people did prod me, including my 67 year old mother.

[Sakura12]

Early ratings are at 0.8 for yesterdays ep. It could still be adjusted down, but if it's at 0.7 again, I think that's extremely rare for a show to stay this steady for 5 weeks. 

[FurryFury]

Yesterday both CW shows got adjusted down by a whopping 0.2 in the finals, so I'd prefer not to celebrate yet.

[CinnamonCat]

From this Variety article: "And at 9, “iZombie” (0.8/3 in 18-49, 2.0 million viewers overall) is a lock for renewal after rising a tick for its best 18-49 rating since its premiere. And in 18-34, it hit a series high (0.7/3), tying with the NBC comedies and coming within a tenth of “NCIS: New Orleans.”"

 

I don't speak ratingsese, but this sounds like great news.

[Sakura12]

Final ratings. iZombie kept the 0.8!  

 

It's losing the Chicago market again next week. 

[FurryFury]

Yay! That's really impressive for a midseason replacement show! They really need to renew the show, pronto!

 

Also, what the hell are they showing in Chicago on this frequency all the time, Sakura12?

 

PS Boo, NCIS was adjusted up, so it still hasn't broken that 2.0 barrier. Oh well, there's hope it will by the end of the season.

Edited April 15, 2015 by FurryFury

[Sakura12]

Also, what the hell are they showing in Chicago on this frequency all the time, Sakura12?

 

The week before it was the Mayoral elections. Next week it's a Cubs game. The CW shares the channel with a Chicago network, so if anything is happening in Chicago they have to show that first. 

[FurryFury]

Doesn't sound that exciting to me, TBH. Although I find the whole idea of watching TV shows on, well, TV kinda strange. It's been more that 10 years since I've done that myself, TV shows in my country really suck :)

Edited April 15, 2015 by FurryFury

[Sakura12]

It's not exciting, it's annoying and why I hate Baseball season. It's pretty much the only sport that always interrupts my shows. 

[dubbel zout]

The CW shares the channel with a Chicago network

 

That happens in NYC with the Mets. This week a game preempted Jane the Virgin. The show is usually aired over the weekend. 

[Sakura12]

I know they'll air either over the weekend or if the game ends early enough it'll be on at midnight on Tuesday. It's still annoying. 

[Cranberry]

From Deadline:

 

Overnight ratings matter little to network executives, but with the upfronts less than a month away, upward and downward movement for bubble shows could influence the ultimate decision on their fate.

 

The CW’s midseason drama iZombie already sealed its renewal last week when it held steady despite having a repeat Flash lead-in. With The Flash back in originals (1.3, even with most recent episode), iZombie (0.8) perked up a tenth to its best delivery since the premiere in both 18-49 and total viewers (1.98 million) while hitting a new high in adults 18-34 (0.7). The Flash and iZombie teamed up to finish No 1 for the night in adults 18-34, tying NBC, which had The Voice.

[FurryFury]

There could be just one obstacle to renewal - The CW has already renewed a lot of its shows, so unless they'll do short orders for some of them, relocate Reign to summer or order just 1 pilot or something, there may not be enough timeslots. There is also concern that they may be afraid of being known as a "Comic book show network" (there are already 3 + rumored Flarrow spin-off with Atom and Sara Lance). Still, it's hard to imagine anyone wouldn't renew #3 show on the network with good reviews and growing fanbase.

[Kromm]

I don't think a network half owned by the MAKERS of DC comics is going to be that afraid of being identified with comics.

Edited April 17, 2015 by Kromm

[FurryFury]

Apparently, some people think that The CW would want to lessen the disparity between WB and CBS shows, but it hasn't been proven yet.