Private Practice: Renew or Cancel?

December 3rd, 2007 by Bill Gorman

UPDATE: ABC has announced that Private Practice will Return in Fall 2008

ABC’s Private Practice, Wednesday 9PM Eastern, has a Grey’s Anatomy spin-off pedigree and was thought to be a certain hit.

But nothing’s ever certain in television, and so we ask: Renew or Cancel?

Private Practice’s Ratings Rank among New ABC Shows, All New Shows

Date	Viewer Rank among New ABC shows	Viewer Rank among all new shows
9/26	#1 of 3	#1 of 20
10/3	#2 of 6	#2 of 23
10/10	#1 of 7	#1 of 24
10/17	#2 of 8	#2 of 24
10/24	#2 of 8	#2 of 24
10/31	#2 of 6	#2 of 22
11/7	not aired	not aired
11/14	#2 of 7	#2 of 22
11/21	#2 of 6	#2 of 22

Date Viewer Rank among New ABC shows Viewer Rank among all new shows

9/26 #1 of 3 #1 of 20

10/3 #2 of 6 #2 of 23

10/10 #1 of 7 #1 of 24

10/17 #2 of 8 #2 of 24

10/24 #2 of 8 #2 of 24

10/31 #2 of 6 #2 of 22

11/7 not aired not aired

11/14 #2 of 7 #2 of 22

11/21 #2 of 6 #2 of 22

ABC has, by far, had the best new line up, and Private Practice’s ratings have been first or second for both ABC new shows and among all new shows in general.

Private Practice ratings have traded the top spot with Samantha Who? this season and might be more impressive since Samantha Who? has the benefit of following the Dancing With the Stars juggernaut.

How is it doing against its competition on Wednesday?

Private Practice’s Ratings and Rankings @ 9PM Wednesday

Date	Viewers (Rank)	Adults 18-49 (Rank)	Adults 18-34 (Rank)	Adults 25-54 (Rank)
9/26	14.41m (1)	6.85m (2)	3.33m (1)	7.25m (2)
10/3	12.45m (2)	5.95m (1)	2.80m (1)	6.44m (1)
10/10	12.42m (2)	6.38m (1)	3.35m (1)	6.43m (1)
10/17	11.78m (2)	5.61m (1)	2.74m (1)	6.06m (2)
10/24*	10.90m (3)	5.28m (2)	2.52m (2)	5.53m (3)
10/31	11.34m (2)	5.00m (1)	2.28m (1)	5.69m (2)
11/7	not aired	-	-	-
11/14	11.48m (2)	5.51m (2)	2.67m (1)	5.93m (2)
11/21	8.54m (3)	3.47m (4)	1.38m (2)	4.22m (2)

Date Viewers (Rank) Adults 18-49 (Rank) Adults 18-34 (Rank) Adults 25-54 (Rank)

9/26 14.41m (1) 6.85m (2) 3.33m (1) 7.25m (2)

10/3 12.45m (2) 5.95m (1) 2.80m (1) 6.44m (1)

10/10 12.42m (2) 6.38m (1) 3.35m (1) 6.43m (1)

10/17 11.78m (2) 5.61m (1) 2.74m (1) 6.06m (2)

10/24* 10.90m (3) 5.28m (2) 2.52m (2) 5.53m (3)

10/31 11.34m (2) 5.00m (1) 2.28m (1) 5.69m (2)

11/7 not aired - - -

11/14 11.48m (2) 5.51m (2) 2.67m (1) 5.93m (2)

11/21 8.54m (3) 3.47m (4) 1.38m (2) 4.22m (2)

Particularly since the 9pm Wednesday timeslot is among the most competitive in primetime, Private Practice’s ratings are all the more impressive.

Private Practice ratings started strong and stayed strong. Regularly winning the 18-34 and 18-49 demos, occasionally 25-54, and typically #2 for total viewers behind Criminal Minds.

(*10/24 data is Live, all other data is Live+SD, useful for rankings but not viewership trends).

Conclusions

Positives

Private Practice ratings have been at or near the top of all new shows since its debut.
In a very competitive timeslot, Private Practice ratings have owned the youth age demos and been second in viewers and 25-54.

Negatives

None.

Verdict: Renew.

Since it’s a spin-off, Private Practice ratings may be less likely than other new shows to suffer if its season ends early and it comes back next year.

Strike Status: As of today, there are 2 fresh episodes left. One is scheduled for 12/5, we have no information on when the other will air, but January is likely.

Wondering about other shows? Check our all our Renew or Cancel? posts.

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