Prime-Time Ratings:
Thursday 5/29/08

The following results are based on the fast affiliate ratings (Live Plus Same Day data)

-Total Viewers:
ABC: 10.41 million, Fox: 9.35, CBS: 7.32, NBC: 4.09, CW: 1.68

-Adults 18-49:
ABC: 4.0 rating/11 share, Fox: 3.6/11, CBS: 1.9/ 6, NBC: 1.7/ 5, CW: 0.6/ 2

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Note: Any prior rating results are based on the final nationals. Since the level of DVR penetration has increased from 13 percent at this same point last year to approximately 23 percent at present, the overall results may be negatively impacted.

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-Yesterday’s Winners:
Lost (ABC), So You Think You Can Dance (Fox)

-Yesterday’s Losers (Excluding Repeats):
Last Comic Standing (NBC)

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-Ratings Breakdown:
A night of Lost on ABC led the Thursday troops, with a first-place finish in both total viewers and adults 18-49. What an incredible season-ender that was last night! There were twists and turns at every moment. For more of my thoughts on Lost, listen to today’s PIPodcast at www.marcberman.tv. Fox finished a competitive second care of So You Think You Can Dance, followed by NBC and the CW.

ABC opened the evening with a repeat of Lost at a second-place 6.83 million viewers and a 2.1 rating/7 share from 8-9 p.m. That led into the two-hour fourth season-ender at a dominant 12.20 million viewers and a 4.9/14 among adults 18-49 from 9-11 p.m. Take a look at the half-hour breakdown:

Lost (ABC)
9:00 p.m. Viewers: 11.73 million (#1), A18-49: 4.5/13 (#1)
9:30 p.m. Viewers: 12.04 million (#1), A18-49: 4.7/12 (#1)
10:00 p.m. Viewers: 12.32 million (#1), A18-49: 5.0/13 (#1)
10:30 p.m. Viewers: 12.69 million (#1), A18-49: 5.3/15 (#1)

While Lost may not be the ratings blockbuster it once was, I can’t imagine anyone watching last night not returning next season. Too bad, though, that we will have to wait until January or February 2009 for the new season.

A two-hour edition of Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance averaged a very comfortable 9.35 million viewers and a 3.6/11 among adults 18-49 from 8-10 p.m., and is expected to remain a solid alternative for the remainder of the summer.

Next was CBS with its encore combination of The Big Bang Theory (Viewers: #3, 4.84 million; A18-49: #3, 1.4/ 5), How I Met Your Mother (Viewers: #3, 4.87 million; A18-49: #3, 1.5/ 5), CSI (Viewers: #3, 8.70 million; A18-49: #3, 2.1/ 6) and Without a Trace (Viewers: #2, 8.42 million; A18-49: #2, 2.1/ 6). Don’t forget that Without a Trace moves to Tuesdays at 10 p.m. next fall out of new drama The Mentalist.

NBC finished a distant fourth in the overnights with its line-up of a repeat of The Office (Viewers: #4, 3.51 million; A18-49: #4, 1.2/ 4), a two-hour installment of Last Comic Standing (Viewers: 4.37 million; A18-49: 1.8/ 5 from 8:30-10:30 p.m.), and another encore of The Office (Viewers: #3, 3.57 million; A18-49: #3, 1.6/ 4 at 10:30 p.m.). And the CW capped off the evening with repeats of Smallville (Viewers: #5, 1.86 million; A18-49: #5, 0.7/ 2) and Supernatural (Viewers: #5, 1.51 million; A18-49: #5, 0.5/ 1). Based on these lackluster results, NBC might think twice about renewing Last Comic Standing again.

Source: Nielsen Media Research

I was expecting atleast 13 mil for Lost, but I guess they're still good numbers since they're up 2 mil from the last ep.
Brilliant finale. Now we have a very long wait til season 5.

quote:

Originally posted by Lost_Dom:
I was expecting atleast 13 mil for Lost, but I guess they're still good numbers since they're up 2 mil from the last ep.

Not really, the last episode ratings were:

Lost (ABC)
Viewers: 11.40 million (#2), A18-49: 5.0/14 (#1)

So it actually fell in the demo. The show might drop below 10m next year.

And BSG might drop below one million.

quote:

Originally posted by Zitrone:

quote:

Originally posted by Lost_Dom:
I was expecting atleast 13 mil for Lost, but I guess they're still good numbers since they're up 2 mil from the last ep.

Not really, the last episode ratings were:

Lost (ABC)
Viewers: 11.40 million (#2), A18-49: 5.0/14 (#1)

So it actually fell in the demo. The show might drop below 10m next year.

Oh, I was going by the numbers TV-aholic posted in the Lost Viewing Data, didn't realise they hadn't been updated.
I'm worried now. This season has been brilliant, and the quality has really been picking up. I think it's because of how much Lost has changed that people are dropping out, it's not the same show it used to be, even though it's as good. It's no longer centered around the Losties, and alot of fan favourites have been killed off.
I guess that even if it does fall below 10 mil during it's last 2 seasons, for a SERIALISED show to have numbers this high for so long, it's not really that bad.

I wonder if not airing during sweeps hurt or helped Lost.

quote:

While Lost may not be the ratings blockbuster it once was, I can’t imagine anyone watching last night not returning next season. Too bad, though, that we will have to wait until January or February 2009 for the new season.

I've liked the short seasons, though. Can you believe this entire season takes place over what amounts to a week or two? Was it even that long? Good thing they're jumping ahead in time--the actors are aging a lot faster than their characters.

ZTRONE your arguements are like watching FOX news with so much inflated spin and false information. About 30% of LOST audience have shifted towards DVR or time-shifted. So, once we get the final DVR number (including LIVE+7 day) lost finale would have been watched by almost 15 million. Nothing to worry about. Why do you watch the show? don't you have something better to do? Go watch something you enjoy.

quote:

Originally posted by pisher:
And BSG might drop below one million.

Does BG even have that many viewers? At this rate, they may lose one more as I am quickly losing interest with the show. I have been a huge BG fan since the beginning, but Ron Moore has IMO seriously hurt the show with all of the Baltar crap and the "Lee is a politican" stuff. This year has been dreadful. The show is almost unwatchable, which is shocking. Hopefully, these last few episodes will be better than the first 7 have been. So disappointing.

Good Question.
I bet most people are not thinking "Season Finale" 8 days after the May Sweeps end. If they watch TV during the summer, its either FOX or Cable series.

I wonder what LOST could have gotten on Wednesday May 21st, going up against AI's Finale? Could it have done less numbers on that night?

quote:

Originally posted by JimmyU:
I wonder if not airing during sweeps hurt or helped Lost.

quote:

Originally posted by SciFi Lover:
Does BG even have that many viewers? At this rate, they may lose one more as I am quickly losing interest with the show. I have been a huge BG fan since the beginning, but Ron Moore has IMO seriously hurt the show with all of the Baltar crap and the "Lee is a politican" stuff. This year has been dreadful. The show is almost unwatchable, which is shocking. Hopefully, these last few episodes will be better than the first 7 have been. So disappointing.

It is a good thing that BSG is set with their finale. It has been a boring season so far.

hopefully Caprica will bring back the spirit of what BSG once was.

quote:

ZTRONE your arguements are like watching FOX news with so much inflated spin and false information. About 30% of LOST audience have shifted towards DVR or time-shifted. So, once we get the final DVR number (including LIVE+7 day) lost finale would have been watched by almost 15 million. Nothing to worry about. Why do you watch the show? don't you have something better to do? Go watch something you enjoy.

Zitrone is caught in a logical paradox. Zitrone wants to complain about Lost. But Zitrone also wants to complain about anyone who complains about Zitrone's fave shows without watching them. Therefore, Zitrone must watch Lost, then complain about it.

On my best day (or worst), I've never been that much of a hater. I'll snark the hell out of Pushing Daisies, Sarah Connor Chronicles, and Eli Stone next season--and watch maybe 20 minutes total. For all three.

The workday is long. The evenings are all too short.

I agree with you Marc, last night's Lost was probably the most spectacular finale since the first season. Last season was amazing in a totally different mind altering way. It is most definitely a niche show and it was always intended as such. The first season though was much more simplistic and its become incredibly and wonderfully complex in the last year. So that is where they've lost viewers IMHO. Those of us who appreciate the beauty of this show love the minutiae and theories. Its certainly not a no brainer kind of show! I was hoping for 14 million, but I hope that it keeps 10 million next season. Shortened seasons will also keep the intensity up too. Poor Sun...I hope she goes gangsta on everyone next season! What a performance!

Last year Lost had better numbers in its first hour against AI finale, and finished above 15m and 6.5 demo. Levels similar to season 4 premiere.

Viewers saw the time-travel nonsense and didn't like it, realized this was just a long con where the only thing happening is more "mysteries".

Last season House tried something similar by airing its finale on may 29th after the weeps were over after a week's break between the final 2 episodes, here are the results

Tuesday 5/15/07
House
- 21.587 million viewers
- 9.2/23 A18-49

Tuesday 5/29/07
House
- 16.86 million viewers
- 6.6/17 A18-49

It is clear that airing the season finale after all the shows have finished does have some affect. Considering that, Lost held up quite well, once the finals come in Lost will beat the CSI finale in the demo.