Lost, once again, was in the Top 3 in terms of DVR viwers. DVR viewership counts about 30% v LIVE numbers. It had over 14 million with DVR numbers (including LIVE, LIVE+SD, LIVE+7).
On ITunes, it was the number#1 downloaded show. 'Cabin Fever' was the latest eps to be the number#1 downloaded show. I can pretty much say this with certainty, that if there was an actual count of online viewership for TV shows, LOST will be in the top 5 most streamed shows, more than likely in the Top 3. Finally, On yahoo, LOST is consistently one of the most buzzed shows, usually at #1 spot. What is all this means?
For one thing, LOST is a show that is prime for attracting different outlets to watch the show. Secondly, Nielson's rating doesn't really do justice or tell the whole picture for a show like LOST. The best way to see how many people are watching LOST or any other show should follow the following rule. You add all the numbers from Nielson's Ratings (including DVR#s), ITunes numbers, Online numbers to see what is the total viwership level for a particular show. As for LOST, If you had all of these outlets, you will probably see lost with 16-18 total million viewership on a regular basis.
LOST is a prime example of why certain shows are deeply affected by so many different outlets to see the show.
For one thing, LOST is a show that is prime for attracting different outlets to watch the show. Secondly, Nielson's rating doesn't really do justice or tell the whole picture for a show like LOST. The best way to see how many people are watching LOST or any other show should follow the following rule. You add all the numbers from Nielson's Ratings (including DVR#s), ITunes numbers, Online numbers to see what is the total viwership level for a particular show. As for LOST, If you had all of these outlets, you will probably see lost with 16-18 total million viewership on a regular basis.
LOST is a prime example of why certain shows are deeply affected by so many different outlets to see the show.
I think you're being a bit over dramatic about the other "outlets" people use to view Lost. I recall seeing iTunes numbers for Lost, and it was under a million, and online viewers, I'm sure, are not 2 million people.
Posts: 2339 | Location: Los Angeles, CA | Registered: 27 January 2007
I don't think he is. Lost is sort of like the canary in the coal-mine in that it had a lot of viewers and over the past 3 years a substantial portion of them have gone to other methods of viewing. If ABC can't find a way to make it work with Lost, the networks are screwed.
For one thing, LOST is a show that is prime for attracting different outlets to watch the show. Secondly, Nielson's rating doesn't really do justice or tell the whole picture for a show like LOST. The best way to see how many people are watching LOST or any other show should follow the following rule. You add all the numbers from Nielson's Ratings (including DVR#s), ITunes numbers, Online numbers to see what is the total viwership level for a particular show. As for LOST, If you had all of these outlets, you will probably see lost with 16-18 total million viewership on a regular basis.
LOST is a prime example of why certain shows are deeply affected by so many different outlets to see the show.
I think you're being a bit over dramatic about the other "outlets" people use to view Lost. I recall seeing iTunes numbers for Lost, and it was under a million, and online viewers, I'm sure, are not 2 million people.
If your number of just under 1 million iTunes downloads is correct then it is 2 million live streams is a very realistic number, remember iTunes is a paid service and abc streaming is free, also ABC streaming is alot well known then itunes
Well, how many shows can claim 1 million downloads? The reason people are paying to download the show is significant by itself: Lost demographics and viewers are spreadout accross different outlets.
I'm using conservative figures, but one can assume 2 million streaming viewers are possible when comparing to other outlets.
For one thing, LOST is a show that is prime for attracting different outlets to watch the show. Secondly, Nielson's rating doesn't really do justice or tell the whole picture for a show like LOST. The best way to see how many people are watching LOST or any other show should follow the following rule. You add all the numbers from Nielson's Ratings (including DVR#s), ITunes numbers, Online numbers to see what is the total viwership level for a particular show. As for LOST, If you had all of these outlets, you will probably see lost with 16-18 total million viewership on a regular basis.
There's a problem with this calculation. There is no way to tell how many iTunes downloads are duplicates of the the television viewers. I know people who watch the show on ABC but also buy the eps on iTunes so they don't have to wait for the Season DVD to rewatch the eps.
The other issue I have is the live streams: it's an untrustworthy number. Fans of the show could co-ordinate a "fake viewing" to pump up the numbers (i.e., stream the show on your PC while you cook dinner or watch another show). Obviously in the case of Lost, where ratings honestly don't matter since the show has been given a termination point, you won't see this, but for a bubble show I could definitely see a concerted effort to try to manipulate the numbers by this method.
Posts: 223 | Location: High Point, NC | Registered: 21 April 2008
