Comments on: Thursday Ratings: So You Think You Can Dance? Powers Fox Win, The Listener Falls Out of Earshot

By: Brian D

Brian D — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:58:36 +0000

I’m one of those people who watched The Listener long before I ever knew it was even going to be on NBC and developed a liking towards it. It’s not a broadcast network kind of show and I mentioned that a while ago on here as it’s more designed to be on cable then anything else.

By: maria

maria — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:16:50 +0000

How many people have nielsen boxes anyway? What about all the other people? How do they calculate fairly when they really don’t know what everyone else is watching? This system is so flawed. Thier has to be a way to tap into the satelites and figure out what all the people are watching.
Everyone is watching digital TV now right?

By: richard less

richard less — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 23:40:41 +0000

NBC 2009 will be like NBC 1979 sans the high viewership (due to cable, etc.)

Forgettable TV.

By: puredieselbc

puredieselbc — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:47:09 +0000

At the end of the day it doesn’t really make a difference whether the Listener gets renewed by NBC or not. It doesn’t even matter whether Americans watch it in droves or not. For them it’s just summer filler. It has an audience already waiting for it in Canada and other world markets. Plus since Fox(who have already got their money’s worth from the show) distributes it internationally who knows, they could bring it back next year for their summer line up. Either way the Listener has a better chance of having a longer run than Dollhouse.

By: Weekly Update – Primeval Cancelled, Wetpaint to Measure Fan Engagement, Fall Premiere Dates « Axiom’s Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:13:43 +0000

[...] Update: NBC’s Canadian import The Listener dropped in the ratings this past week as it slid down to a 1.0 rating in the 18-49 demographic with only 3.8 million [...]

By: Robert Seidman

Robert Seidman — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 07:47:18 +0000

Unless you have a *very* big, perhaps stadium-sized living room, the number of people in the US who downloaded/watched The Listener before it aired in the USA probably wouldn’t fit. But the number of people who live in Nielsen households who did that would fit with room to spare. That room might be completely empty.

By: Bill Gorman

Bill Gorman — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 04:46:28 +0000

JeffC, “These fan bases are also internet savvy however, and likely already watched the show in it’s entirety before the season started airing Stateside. As the U.S. imports shows with increasing numbers whether or not this theory holds true will be seen.”

Is your theory that The Listener’s audience has been reduced because prior to its airing in the US its episodes were downloaded and viewed by a large number of potential US viewers thereby reducing its viewing audience? Oh, Boy.

The number of people in the US who likely downloaded an unknown international show like The Listener before it aired in the US could fit in your living room.

There could be a lot of reasons The Listener is getting terrible ratings, but that’s not one of them.

By: JeffC

JeffC — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 03:52:50 +0000

Actually, I just reviewed some of the Listener’s data again. Not only is it funded by CTV, but it’s also funded by it’s sister network Space, and now has an executive producer for Fox International on-board, which means production costs are spread among three different networks (although 2 are owned by the same network.) Additionally, The Listener gets a Canadian federal tax credit, and I believe it gets one from the Ontario government as well. If you’ve seen the show, you’ll notice its production values aren’t exactly through the roof either. It seems like for all the interested parties this show is extremely cheap to produce.

What this means is that NBC likely has to pay relatively little for a license to run the show since the other networks have to pay so little to produce it. I wouldn’t be surprised if it gets some sort of a nod for next summer as well.

I’m not surprised at it’s current numbers however. Engaged fan bases are vital for a show’s survival, especially for the buzz they can create. These fan bases are also internet savvy however, and likely already watched the show in it’s entirety before the season started airing Stateside. As the U.S. imports shows with increasing numbers whether or not this theory holds true will be seen.

By: JeffC

JeffC — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 19:15:37 +0000

Yes, while the show does horribly in the U.S. It has been doing well in Canada (although it’s ratings are slipping), but it did amazingly well internationally, particularly in Italy, and I believe Fox fronted enough money to produce a new season. I’ve read some of the international comments on the show, and consensus is that it starts to pick up in quality ala Dollhouse, that is, it stops sucking around episode six. It will be interesting to see if this effects the ratings to any significant extent or whether the show has already doomed itself with it’s rough start. Right now NBC seems content to let it sit there.

By: puredieselbc

puredieselbc — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 15:12:01 +0000

BeerVendor, The Listener premiered in Canada a day before it aired in the US, so we’re seeing it for the first time up here too.

NBC doesn’t promote the show(they just bought it as summer filler)and puts throw away repeats of the Office and 30 Rock in front of it, so I’m not surprised at the ratings. There’ll be a second season though because CTV and Fox make a mint off of it internationally. Plus it’s getting expensive for Canadian private broadcasters to keep buy American shows, so while the Listener is not perfect, shows like it and Flashpoint are probably going to be the Canadian industry’s future.

Anyways I’m stickin’ with it because it’s summer, I actually like it and if I can put up with Heroes and Dollhouse, than I can put up with this.

By: Holly

Holly — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 13:23:59 +0000

@BeerVendor, The fact that it is a shared-cost Canadian production means it can get lower ratings than a full-cost production, but the ratings still matter. A 0.9 is really bad even for something cheap, and I’m sure NBC was hoping for more. Even so, it’s impossible to guess what NBC is thinking. If it’s cheap enough they might keep it around for summer filler even with a 1.0.

By: BeerVendor

BeerVendor — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 06:41:52 +0000

How important are these ratings for the Listener and it’s chances for renewal given that it’s a Canadian show, and the whole first season aired over there already?

By: matthew

matthew — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 03:53:51 +0000

wow. It’s sad how NBC is trying so hard to come back. I wish them well. It must be hard to compete with CBS that gets 10m viewers for a repeat

By: Holly

Holly — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 03:49:10 +0000

Christopher, They don’t have any new episodes of Flashpoint available right now. The season is done and filming won’t start for a while yet.

By: AniMatsuri

AniMatsuri — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 02:50:33 +0000

Seems while The Listner is a ratings grabber(from what I’ve read) in other countries no one in the US is paying it much attention.

By: ryan

ryan — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 02:28:04 +0000

NBC is stupid for airing repeats infront of The Listener. Its like they want the show to die. Of course The Office doesnt do well in repeats and 30 Rock doesnt seem to keep its audience. The Listener should move to 9/8c so that at least the show gets in some sort of lead in.

By: Christopher

Christopher — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 01:10:08 +0000

Cbs should bring Flashpoint back for Summer

By: ABCFanatic

ABCFanatic — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 23:10:41 +0000

Wow repeats of Ugly Betty isn’t bad compare to the repeats of Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice.

By: David4

David4 — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 22:30:31 +0000

Because new series in summer is a waste of money. Repeats get new fans of the shows ready for the new season.

By: Julia

Julia — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 22:29:09 +0000

Wow. I’m really surprised by how well Royal Pains is doing. It’s not a bad show but it doesn’t seem like something that would appeal to a wide audience. Though I guess people like to watch shows featuring the lifestyles of the rich, if Real Housewives success is anything to go by.

By: Someone who posts

Someone who posts — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 22:28:31 +0000

The Listener from what I’ve heard is a rip-off of the Mentalist.

Why can’t some networks make new series simply replacing the repeats.

By: Holly

Holly — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 22:14:14 +0000

The Live Feed has numbers for Burn Notice (5.8 million and a 1.9) and Royal Pains (6.5 million and a 2.1).

http://www.thrfeed.com/2009/06/royal-pains-hits-ratings-high.html

By: Jeff G

Jeff G — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 22:03:45 +0000

I do not care if it is summer or if the super bowl is against me, if I am a network executive, I am ashamed of these numbers.

By: vsaint

vsaint — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 21:59:03 +0000

The last show i enjoyed during the summer was, The OC.
It aired on August. so partially in the summer.
I don’t know if it was a hit, right away.
But i remember all the buzz around it.

By: j

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 21:36:24 +0000

Couldn’t we just add up the 18-49 shares to see approximately how many people watched broadcast, vs. cable? That’d be 25. Of course, that’s off a bit since there a few broadcast networks that air with tiny ratings.

I wonder if Burn Notice & Royal Pains got the top 18-49 ratings of the night after So You Think.