Grey's Anatomy in the Media: Incident Reporting

[BaseOps]

Grey's rebounded from the 1.9 demo two weeks ago back up to a 2.0 in the demo for the Jackson / April episode last week (it also scored higher overall viewers year-to-year versus season 12 episode 16). It was the only scripted series on ABC to have a 2.0 in the demo last week - Modern Family has been pulling 1.9 for a few weeks and everything else is well below 2.0, with most drama under a 1.0 (Quantico, The Catch, Time After Time, Agents of SHIELD, Once Upon a Time, American Crime are all fractional). 

[BaseOps]

Grey's was back to a 1.9 in the demo this week, which was to be expected - most shows (especially at 8PM) take a hit around daylight savings in the US; spring numbers are almost always the lowest of the broadcast year until May sweeps. The March 24 episode last year did a 2.1, so it's only down slightly. Grey's first hit a 1.9 back in season 11, but it has never gone lower, only tied that. 

Compared to other dramas this week: 

Empire (mid-season premiere) - 2.8, Chicago Fire - 1.5, Scandal - 1.3, Criminal Minds - 1.3, Designated Survivor - 1.1, Once Upon a Time - 0.8, Bones - 0.8, Quantico - 0.7, The Catch - 0.7, American Crime - 0.4. 

Only Empire is beating Grey's right now for all dramas on broadcast. This Is Us has wrapped its first season, which will also beat Grey's overall this year. 

Edited March 25, 2017 by BaseOps

[funnygirl]

Daylight savings hit the shows last week, not this week. 

And episode 15 was also 1.9 in the demo, which aired before daylight savings. 

Edited March 25, 2017 by funnygirl

[BaseOps]

30 minutes ago, funnygirl said:

Daylight savings hit the shows last week, not this week. 

And episode 15 was also 1.9 in the demo, which aired before daylight savings. 

But the effects last more than a week. Regardless, I'm just saying everything on TV typically hits low points around this time of year, especially when it gets nicer out the 8PM shows often take a hit. Also, I pointed out that 1.9 two posts ago. 

[OtterMommy]

Facebook just reminded me that today is the 12th Anniversary of the premiere of Grey's Anatomy.

I'm kind of in shock that I've given this show roughy 250 hours of my life.  At the same time, I've resigned myself that it would be pointless to stop now.

[BaseOps]

Grey's rebounded up to a 2.1 in the  demo, making it the highest rated series on ABC all week (tied with Modern Family), and the second highest-rated drama on all broadcast, behind only Empire (2.4). 

[funnygirl]

The final numbers are in: 2.0 in the demo, 7.62 million. 

Edited March 31, 2017 by funnygirl

[Wilson]

Grey's hit a series low with a 1.7/7.2 million.  Is anyone surprised? http://tvline.com/2017/04/07/mom-ratings-season-4/

[Layne]

4 minutes ago, Wilson said:

Grey's hit a series low with a 1.7/7.2 million.  Is anyone surprised? http://tvline.com/2017/04/07/mom-ratings-season-4/

No. Maggie is boring. 

[funnygirl]

14 minutes ago, Layne said:

No. Maggie is boring. 

This season is boring. 

[flickers]

On 8/4/2017 at 9:11 AM, Layne said:

No. Maggie is boring. 

Wow, a three episode arc dedicated to Maggie grieving a character we've never seen before doesn't bring in the crowds. Who'da thunk it?

[BaseOps]

Every drama (and most comedies) on broadcast are hitting series lows right now. Once Upon a Time is down to an 0.7, Scandal hit 1.2, Empire is down to a 2.2 after starting the season with a 4.2... it's not just Grey's / the Maggie storyline. Even Modern Family has gone from a 2.6 to 1.8, Big Bang Theory got down to a 2.6 from a 3.8 premiere. 

[Chas411]

Camilla had a baby girl names Hayden. I saw it in Instagram..

[Wilson]

Grey's stayed low with a 1.7/7.06 in ratings. Sonia this a result of politics distracting viewers, a slump before May sweeps, or are viewers jumping ship? Of course, Grey's still beat most of its competition, but these are numbers Grey's itself has never seen before.

[BaseOps]

Grey's adjusted up to a 1.8, down only 0.2 from episode 20 last year. It's still remarkably steady compared to virtually everything else (the erosion for Empire, Big Bang Theory, Scandal, etc. is all much worse). Everything is down right now. 

[chitowngirl]

So there's no Grey's on tomorrow night so a season 1 repeat of Scandal can air?? Grrr!

[BaseOps]

15 hours ago, chitowngirl said:

So there's no Grey's on tomorrow night so a season 1 repeat of Scandal can air?? Grrr!

There's no Grey's because there are 24 episodes a season with double the amount of Thursdays. It had to take a week off at one point. 

[chitowngirl]

Oh, I know the reason, it's just frustrating the scheduling is because of the Gods of Nielson Ratings and advertising dollars.

[BaseOps]

3 minutes ago, chitowngirl said:

Oh, I know the reason, it's just frustrating the scheduling is because of the Gods of Nielson Ratings and advertising dollars.

I like how they've done it the past few season, though. With the long break in the middle, this is the only time all year we've had a 'one week off'. There used to be such an awful schedule of 1 week on, 2 weeks off, 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off, 3 weeks on, etc. etc. 

[PamelaMaeSnap]

Whew ... I've been so slammed with work and stuff that I JUST settled in to watch Grey's now and saw it "hadn't recorded" (my words, not my TV's) and I freaked out. Especially since I saw it's on NEXT week so thought it had just malfunctioned or maybe done one of those things where I'd set it to record three things. 

I feel much better now (though I was stoked to watch an ep). 

[Chas411]

http://www.justjared.com/2017/04/24/jesse-williams-wife-aryn-drake-lee-split-file-for-divorce-after-nearly-5-years-of-marriage/

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Kate Walsh explains why she won't be returning to Grey's Anatomy:

[StaceyNotStacie]

1 hour ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Kate Walsh explains why she won't be returning to Grey's Anatomy:

That's sad to hear, but I understand her reasoning. Derek and Mark are both dead, so there really isn't a reason to come back. However, I wouldn't have minded Addison coming back to talk some sense into Amelia. She seems like the one to get through to her, although I wonder how close they are now that Amelia is one of the "sisters" with Meredith and Maggie. 

[funnygirl]

I don't blame her. As much as I love Addison, the show is a different Grey's Anatomy than the one she was a part of. 

Edited April 25, 2017 by funnygirl

[BaseOps]

7 hours ago, funnygirl said:

I don't blame her. As much as I love Addison, the show is a different Grey's Anatomy than the one she was a part of. 

She still has connections to quite a few characters - Meredith, Amelia, and Richard, most notably. Also Alex. I do think they'd need a real reason + a great storyline to bring her back. She's one of the few surviving characters to leave. Addison, Cristina, Callie, Izzie, Burke, Hahn and Teddy are the only regulars that have left without being killed off that I can think of (VS Derek, George, Mark and Lexi all being killed.) Burke already popped back up and got closure, Cristina likely won't show until the series finale, and I can't see any of the others popping back in except maybe Callie at some point. 

[BaseOps]

So Grey's held the 1.8 last week, as well, but this week should be interesting. Everything is falling to drastic lows - Modern Family was down to a 1.6 and Empire down to 1.8 last night. That means Empire is down a full 50% in the demo from last season. It usually happens around this time of year (weather is nicer, etc.) but this season has been particularly brutal for broadcast. With Designated Survivor falling to an 0.9, Grey's and Scandal remain the only dramas on ABC above a 1.0.

This is interesting. Number of broadcast shows at or above a 2.0 A18-49 on the 1st Wednesday of May sweeps...

In 2015: 6
In 2016: 3
In 2017: 0

Number of broadcast originals at or BELOW at 1.5 rating first Wed. of sweeps...

In 2015: 2
In 2016: 6
In 2017: 10

Number of broadcast originals below a 1.0 rating first Wed. of sweeps...

In 2015: 0
In 2016: 2
In 2017: 4

Edited May 4, 2017 by BaseOps

[BaseOps]

Grey's held the 1.8, making it again ABC's highest-rated series of the week, beating Modern Family. It's also tied for the highest-rated drama on broadcast this week with Empire and the 2nd highest-rated scripted series overall after The Big Bang Theory. 

[pennben]

On 5/4/2017 at 10:26 AM, BaseOps said:

Empire down to 1.8 last night. That means Empire is down a full 50% in the demo from last season.

Holy moly, Empire is at 1.8 in just a few years?! How did that happen???  Didn't it start at 3+ish and then grow to over 4 later in the first season just a couple of years ago (as I recall, it grew every week over week in a historical fashion for awhile?) Does anyone recall how high it got? And then, now to be at 1.8.....wow....

And now, back to topic, but it seems that Grey's stays among the top of the ratings in the demo over all of these years (regardless of where the top is). So they went from the top when the numbers were in the 8s or 9s?.  And now it's still in top five or so when the high is in the ones?  I feel like that's right, but correct me.

Why is there any question anywhere why this show gets renewed?

Edited May 6, 2017 by pennben

[BaseOps]

8 hours ago, pennben said:

Holy moly, Empire is at 1.8 in just a few years?! How did that happen???  Didn't it start at 3+ish and then grow to over 4 later in the first season just a couple of years ago (as I recall, it grew every week over week in a historical fashion for awhile?) Does anyone recall how high it got? And then, now to be at 1.8.....wow....

And now, back to topic, but it seems that Grey's stays among the top of the ratings in the demo over all of these years (regardless of where the top is). So they went from the top when the numbers were in the 8s or 9s?.  And now it's still in top five or so when the high is in the ones?  I feel like that's right, but correct me.

Why is there any question anywhere why this show gets renewed?

 

Empire premiered with a 3.8 and grew every week in S1 to hit a massive 6.9 for the finale. That is absolutely astronomical. Season 2 premiered with a 6.7 and ended on a 4.1. This season premiered with a 4.2 and is down to a 1.9 (the ratings for this week's episode adjusted up). It has been down every week since the mid-season premiere in March. Grey's premiered with a 2.5 this season, peaked at 2.6 and has held at a 1.8 for the last 3 episodes. 

Modern Family started the season at 2.6 (also its peak) and is down to a series-low 1.7. It has also gone down every week for the past 3 weeks. 

[FnkyChkn34]

Does anyone know exactly how ratings work?  When I DVR a show and watch it later, does that count?  If I watch it more than once, does that count more than once?  Or if I watch it the following day on Hulu?  (Etc.)

I've seen discussion boards have this conversation before, but no one seems to really know the answer; everyone just speculates.

[Bort]

23 minutes ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

Does anyone know exactly how ratings work?  When I DVR a show and watch it later, does that count?  If I watch it more than once, does that count more than once?  Or if I watch it the following day on Hulu?  (Etc.)

Unless you have a Nielsen box/journal, they don't know what you watch or how much. 

[FnkyChkn34]

22 minutes ago, kariyaki said:

Unless you have a Nielsen box/journal, they don't know what you watch or how much. 

And how many people have those?  Not very many, in proportion to all potential TV watchers.  My family was selected for a week back in... the 80s?  Maybe the early 90s?  My sister and I filled it out; we were children.  I'm not sure if any of my mom's shows were counted.

I guess my follow-up question is this then:  how is that an accurate representation of the American population?  If Nielsen sends out 3,000,000 of those things every week, isn't that still only 1% of the population?  

[Bort]

14 minutes ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

And how many people have those?  Not very many, in proportion to all potential TV watchers.  My family was selected for a week back in... the 80s?  Maybe the early 90s?  My sister and I filled it out; we were children.  I'm not sure if any of my mom's shows were counted.

I guess my follow-up question is this then:  how is that an accurate representation of the American population?  If Nielsen sends out 3,000,000 of those things every week, isn't that still only 1% of the population?  

You might try reading the Wikipedia article on Nielsen ratings. It should give you an idea of how that stuff is calculated.

[FnkyChkn34]

13 minutes ago, kariyaki said:

You might try reading the Wikipedia article on Nielsen ratings. It should give you an idea of how that stuff is calculated.

Thanks, I have.  Sorry for playing devil's advocate - I just don't think these "ratings" can be all that accurate anymore.  :-)

They might have been good for I Love Lucy in the 50s and 60s, but there are so many ways to watch TV now that Nielsen just can't cover it all.

[Bort]

Just now, FnkyChkn34 said:

Thanks, I have.  Sorry for playing devil's advocate - I just don't think these "ratings" can be all that accurate anymore.  :-)

They might have been good for I Love Lucy in the 50s and 60s, but there are so many ways to watch TV now that Nielsen just can't cover it all.

That's true, and there is a lot of criticism about the antiquated system that is Nielsen (lots of articles about that too), but that's the method that's still used.

[Greysaddict]

On 5/8/2017 at 2:39 PM, FnkyChkn34 said:

And how many people have those?  Not very many, in proportion to all potential TV watchers.  My family was selected for a week back in... the 80s?  Maybe the early 90s?  My sister and I filled it out; we were children.  I'm not sure if any of my mom's shows were counted.

I guess my follow-up question is this then:  how is that an accurate representation of the American population?  If Nielsen sends out 3,000,000 of those things every week, isn't that still only 1% of the population?  

there are two types of Nielsen ratings, National and Local.  Local ratings are based on the area which you live in (called a DMA) are the only ratings that are still based on paper diaries--and not for much longer.  National ratings, the ones which are reported in media, are all based on electronic measurement.  Yes, it is based on sample but that sample is scientifically and diligently selected, weighted and analyzed to properly represent the entire US.  Is it perfect?  No definitely not.  Nielsen has tried to make progress to measure all viewing (computers, phones, tablets, etc) but has had a lot of pushback from networks and tv providers, which they need full corporation from in order for a complete overhaul of the measurement system to work.  

The industry is fully aware the measurement system has flaws and is missing a huge chunk of the audience.  But, it is all we have, so for now it is what business decisions are based on.  

If you have specific questions on how anything is measured let me know!

[DearEvette]

Good timing, just posted today.. TV Line - TV Ratings Everything you wanted to know about Ratings but were afraid to ask

[BaseOps]

ABC confirmed today that TGIT will return in the fall with Grey's Anatomy / Scandal / How To Get Away with Murder. With Scandal ending after next season, there will be some extra buzz which is nice and should benefit the entire lineup (especially since Scandal fans feel like the current season has been a major step-up from the previous 2). It's also rumored that Scandal will again only be 16 episodes, so by February or March Grey's will be airing with a totally new lineup, likely including the new Shondaland show "For The People" (a legal drama). 

[OtterMommy]

Not so much about Grey's, except that a character we haven't yet met is getting his/her own show.

http://deadline.com/2017/05/greys-anatomy-spinoff-firefighters-shondaland-abc-series-order-1202094236/

[cgogis]

15 hours ago, OtterMommy said:

Not so much about Grey's, except that a character we haven't yet met is getting his/her own show.

http://deadline.com/2017/05/greys-anatomy-spinoff-firefighters-shondaland-abc-series-order-1202094236/

Maybe Stephanie won't die from the blast, but she'll turn into a firefighter after she recovers from her severe burns. :D 

[Scatterbrained]

18 hours ago, OtterMommy said:

Not so much about Grey's, except that a character we haven't yet met is getting his/her own show.

http://deadline.com/2017/05/greys-anatomy-spinoff-firefighters-shondaland-abc-series-order-1202094236/

http://www.eonline.com/news/853016/6-other-grey-s-anatomy-spin-offs-we-would-ve-loved-to-see

 

LOL!

[Pink ranger]

I would totally watch "after greys anatomy" if scorned dead patients haunted the doctors. Imagine the burnt rapist as a Freddie Krueger type?  

[OtterMommy]

1 hour ago, Scatterbrained said:

http://www.eonline.com/news/853016/6-other-grey-s-anatomy-spin-offs-we-would-ve-loved-to-see

 

LOL!

I would not be a fan of any spin off that brought back Izzie.  Just sayin'.

ETA: I'd totally be there for Calliope in the City, especially since it seems that Penny is long gone....

[jschoolgirl]

That photo of Kate Walsh makes her look like Meredith.

[Deanie87]

On 5/16/2017 at 10:19 PM, OtterMommy said:

Not so much about Grey's, except that a character we haven't yet met is getting his/her own show.

http://deadline.com/2017/05/greys-anatomy-spinoff-firefighters-shondaland-abc-series-order-1202094236/

This explains a lot about season 13, including why the first part of the season was a lot more consistent.  Sometime during the season, the head writer gets a deal for a spinoff and everything Grey's falls to the back burner.  We've been there before, see PP and Scandal, the new and shiny always takes precedence over the sure thing workhorse.  Always.  Grey's is not the first show to have a spinoff, have a cast member leave under a cloud, or even on good terms, or have an actress get pregnant.  But for some reason, even after all these years, Grey's simply can't seem to roll with these issues the way other shows can and do.  Whatever backstage issue is happening, whether good or bad, it always, always affects the storytelling negatively.  Always.  You would think that this would be one of the times that having a large cast would benefit the show and the pacing and the storytelling.  But nope.

[BaseOps]

21 minutes ago, Deanie87 said:

This explains a lot about season 13, including why the first part of the season was a lot more consistent.  Sometime during the season, the head writer gets a deal for a spinoff and everything Grey's falls to the back burner.  We've been there before, see PP and Scandal, the new and shiny always takes precedence over the sure thing workhorse.  Always.  Grey's is not the first show to have a spinoff, have a cast member leave under a cloud, or even on good terms, or have an actress get pregnant.  But for some reason, even after all these years, Grey's simply can't seem to roll with these issues the way other shows can and do.  Whatever backstage issue is happening, whether good or bad, it always, always affects the storytelling negatively.  Always.  You would think that this would be one of the times that having a large cast would benefit the show and the pacing and the storytelling.  But nope.

 

 

I don't think it's that simple, though. It seems like all they have conceived for the spinoff at this point is that it's set at a fire station... there's not even a pilot yet, which mean's there's no writers room. What they have so far isn't something that wouldn't take much time away from Grey's, especially considering Shonda is hardly involved in the day-to-day at Grey's anymore, and I doubt she'll have much hands-on to do with this new pilot, either. There's not really much overlap. Stacy McKee likely hasn't even written a pilot for this yet as they said characters will be introduced next season in a backdoor pilot... so beyond maybe imagining a few characters, I doubt there's been much work done. I think it's just an easy excuse for fans to say, "she's abandoning this show for another!" when the truth is, someone like Debbie Allen is much more involved in the running of Grey's than Shonda is anyway. Like HTGAWM, this is just another series bearing Shonda's name, it's not a show that she's creating. In terms of the pregnancy thing... again, I don't think it's that simple. I can't think of another series where four main actresses needed time off at various points. On shows like Scandal and Alias, they trimmed episode orders when the lead stars got pregnant, and that was one actress. On Grey's they had to balance 3 pregnancies and 4 maternity leaves for actresses that were all involved in main storylines. I'm not totally excusing them for the messy writing this year, but it is a huge order to say "you'll have to change this storyline, and you'll only have this actress for x amount days and x amount of episodes", etc. especially when there's such a massive cast that is already on set schedules. 

Now, that still can't account for certain issues - like why Alex didn't have an episode or two more to consider what he wanted to do about Jo's husband / showing us him actually looking for the guy, VS just randomly seeing him make a call after not even seeing Jo for weeks and then in the next episode he's found the guy and is literally looking right at him, or why Jackson and April had sex and then haven't shared a scene for 7 episodes. I hope that, regardless of the challenges going in, things are planned a lot better next year. 

Edited May 18, 2017 by BaseOps

[Deanie87]

I was under the impression that the fire fighter character was going to be introduced in tonight's episode?  Either way, this is the 3rd season in a row where backstage stuff has negatively altered storylines, except for a small handful of characters.  I'm not blaming Shonda here, maybe the common factor is McKee and her new method of storytelling. There were as many or more characters back in seasons 9-10, but I think the seasons were more consistent. In which case, I hope she leaves Greys entirely instead of trying to do both.  She used to be one of my favorites, but her recent episodes and the show over all all since she has been one of the head writers has gotten progressively worse, IMO.  

As far as the pregnancies/maternity leaves I would argue that they were spaced months apart, and those actresses affected, with the exception of one, still got plenty to do over the entire arc of the season, some even more than those who weren't pregnant.  At the end of the day, it is always something and I am not optimistic for next season either.  YMMV.

[flickers]

McKee tweeted that tonight's finale was her last episode with Grey's.

[BaseOps]

I'm definitely glad that McKee is leaving; I hope whoever steps into her place has a bit more direction. Perhaps the series needs a behind-the-scenes shakeup. At this point I'm sticking with the show to the end regardless, so I can just hope for the best. 

Edited May 18, 2017 by BaseOps

[OtterMommy]

10 hours ago, BaseOps said:

I'm definitely glad that McKee is leaving; I hope whoever steps into her place has a bit more direction. Perhaps the series needs a behind-the-scenes shakeup. At this point I'm sticking with the show to the end regardless, so I can just hope for the best. 

Do we know yet who is taking her place?

I have a feeling, or maybe it is just a hope, that the next season will be more streamlined, although possibly more conservative.  I think they, whoever that is, recognizes that this season didn't work on so many levels and I think the new person's trial by fire, so to speak, will be to get this show back on the rails.  That may mean some dropped or conveniently closed story lines and a few retcons.  Honestly, though, I'd be okay with that as long as the show improves in season 14.