Futurama delivers strong ratings!

[:]

Good news, everyone!

http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/06/25/thursday-cable-ratings-futurama-returns-strong/55378

[#1 :]

with the way comedy central was advertising the premiere, I'm not surprised.  THey even had a countdown clock in the top left corner of the screen all through ITWGY, which was on right before the new episodes.  You couldn't help but know the show was going to be on.

http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/06/25/thursday-cable-ratings-futurama-returns-strong/55378

me and my neilson box can personally vouch for 21000 of those viewers

[#2 :]

soylentOrange, you da man!

Although I'd be quiet about that if I were you. I've heard stories in the past that they'll take away the nielson box if they find out that you are an unusually obsessed fan of a particular show.

Glad to hear the ratings are strong. I hope it keeps up.

[#3 :]

How did your single box account for 21,000 viewers?


This is all very good news. As stated in another thread, South Park gets a little higher ratings than this. Although you have to keep in mind that they've been airing on Wednesday nights for a while now, and they're in the more viewer-lucrative fall/spring season schedule. Compared to other shows this summer netting around 4 million viewers, 2.92 million is fantastic.

[#4 :]

Yay! Now if these ratings continue to be high throughout the season, we could be gettig a Season 7. And then I'll be high.

[#5 :]

Thank god its getting good ratings at least so far! It has a chance at life! And, as an added bonus, Futurama just passed 2 million fans on Facebook. We may be spread across the globe together we are one, big Futurama loving group

[#6 :]

How did your single box account for 21,000 viewers?

Statistical sample. Each box is worth a certain amount of viewers. Not sure if 21,000 is correct or not, but I understand what he's saying.

[#7 :]

Thank god its getting good ratings at least so far! It has a chance at life! And, as an added bonus, Futurama just passed 2 million fans on Facebook. We may be spread across the globe together we are one, big Futurama loving group

You'd be surprised of how many of those "fans" didn't know Futurama was coming back until last week

[#8 :]

Thank god its getting good ratings at least so far! It has a chance at life! And, as an added bonus, Futurama just passed 2 million fans on Facebook. We may be spread across the globe together we are one, big Futurama loving group

You'd be surprised of how many of those "fans" didn't know Futurama was coming back until last week

True, true. Well that's the magic of the internet my friend!

[#9 :]

How did your single box account for 21,000 viewers?

The way Nielson works is that they get some small percentage of the population to let them spy on their television habits with a box that gets hardwired into the back of their television.  Of course, not everyone agrees to this, and so people with Nielson boxes only make up a small portion of the actual audience that is watching the show.  The formula they use is a little more complicated than this, but basically, if 1 out of 21000 television watchers is being recorded with a Nielson box, then, statistically, each Nielson box counts as 21000 people.  Thats what the company told me anyway.  It's a great company btw.  They even pay you to install the box on your tv.

[#10 :]

This is great news for Futurama!

I don't know what CC's ratings are usually, but according to some people new episodes of South Park usually garner 4 million viewers. For a resurrected show on a new channel debuting during the Summer, I think that 2.92 million viewers for "Rebirth" is impressive.

The question is whether CC will be satisfied with these numbers? I don't get CC because I live in Canada, but according to the people 'State-side, CC has been advertising the hell out of Futurama's return, which isn't cheap. If they're not content with these numbers, the show's long-term future is in danger. What I mean is that CC has bought and paid for 26 new episodes, but they haven't ordered any more yet. Futurama needs to have strong ratings during this summer to convince CC to renew it for another production season, instead of waiting until the second half of the episodes air next year.

I just hope there isn't a significant drop off next week. Ideally, it would increase as word of mouth spreads, because I've talked and chatted with many people over the last few weeks who had no idea that Futurama was returning, or exactly when, and what channel it was on now. I really hope that Futurama's ratings go even higher, and hopefully match South Park's -- because most of the people that I know who like South Park also watched Futurama, and vice-versa.

[#11 :]

This is great news for Futurama!

I don't know what CC's ratings are usually, but according to some people new episodes of South Park usually garner 4 million viewers. For a resurrected show on a new channel debuting during the Summer, I think that 2.92 million viewers for "Rebirth" is impressive.

The question is whether CC will be satisfied with these numbers? I don't get CC because I live in Canada, but according to the people 'State-side, CC has been advertising the hell out of Futurama's return, which isn't cheap. If they're not content with these numbers, the show's long-term future is in danger. What I mean is that CC has bought and paid for 26 new episodes, but they haven't ordered any more yet. Futurama needs to have strong ratings during this summer to convince CC to renew it for another production season, instead of waiting until the second half of the episodes air next year.

The guys who run that website are pretty quant-savvy.  If they say it's a good number, I believe them.

[#12 :]

I hope Futurama continues to pull numbers.  Unfortunately, we're going head to head (time slot wise) with Burn Notice/Royal Pains on USA, which are the 2 top rated shows on cable... 

[#13 :]

If you go to this page, you can see what South Park's ratings are like episode to episode, at least for the last season and a half (I think the most recent half-season had better ratings than usual, owing to the 200th episode hype):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_South_Park_episodes

2.78 is not far off from South Park numbers at all...it fits quite comfortably within the average for South Park's last season, in fact.  And South Park is probably the network's biggest show.

Also, unlike FOX, Comedy Central re-airs all their shows quite a few times throughout the week (even a couple hours after the initial premieres), so the ratings for the premiere would have to be diluted somewhat.  Someone who missed the show for whatever reason could easily catch one of many reruns through the week or later the same night.  And of course, with shows like Futurama (and South Park), the same episodes will continue to rerun with all the others, too.

I'd say this show is in pretty good shape if it's pulling those kinds of numbers on a cable channel like Comedy Central.

[#14 :]

Speaking of which, for anybody who hasn't seen them yet, they're airing almost every night this coming week. Just check CC's schedule online.

[#15 :]

It's going to be fun on the bun! That's good news and hopefully they will be able to sustain that through the series, fingers crossed, everything crossed.

[#16 :]

http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/06/28/futurama-blasts-off-on-comedy-central-with-record-ratings/55599

a great sign

[#17 :]

Futurama is yummy!

[#18 :]

Awesome cake.  Where can I get one, and why do you have one before me?

[#19 :]

Glad to hear it, I was worried no one would know about it XD I didn't even know about it at first because I don't have cable.  But I just happened to be at my brother's house at the time and he has cable... and flipping through the channels I found the movie and it went from there XD

Hope it stays that way.

[#20 :]

Bethenny Getting Married (10pm)
- 1.720 million viewers
- 1.2/2 HH
- 0.9/3 A18-49

Futurama (10pm)
- 2.159 million viewers
- 1.3/2 HH
- 1.1/4 A18-49

River Monsters (9pm)
- 1.314 million viewers
- 0.8/1 HH
- 0.6/2 A18-49

TNA: Impact (9pm, 120 minutes)
- 1.266 million viewers
- 0.8/2 HH
- 0.5/1 A18-49

Police Women of Memphis (9pm)
- 1.305 million viewers
- 0.8/1 HH
- 0.5/2 A18-49

Mall Cops: Mall of America (10pm)
- 1.028 million viewers
- 0.6/1 HH
- 0.4/1 A18-49

Burn Notice
- 5.213 million viewers
- 3.3/6 HH
- 1.5/5 A18-49

Royal Pains (61 minutes)
- 5.321 million viewers
- 3.5/6 HH
- 1.6/5 A18-49

The OCD Project
- 0.540 million viewers
- 0.3/1 HH
- 0.3/1 A18-49

--
http://travisyanan.blogspot.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/travisyanan

Looks like it dropped a bit, but the rating is still pretty strong for Comedy Central.

[#21 :]

It's tough going up against Burn Notice & Royal pains; they're the 2 highest rated shows on cable & they're back to back.

[#22 :]

Never heard of those two shows. I am so out of the loop these days.

But more than 2 million viewers on cable seems respectable enough.

[#23 :]

Wow, those are pretty strong ratings. I'm not American so I can't know, but from what I heard the previous episodes were quite well advertised, as well as being the premiere, so they're accounted for being watched.

Never heard of those two shows. I am so out of the loop these days.

Don't worry, I've heard the title Burn Notice but never seen it, and I've never heard of Royal Pains (although I first thought it said Royal Panties for some reason...).

[#24 :]

hopefully it can stay at just around 2 million viewers for each episode. that should be enough to renew, right?

[#25 :]

I've never heard of those two shows either :s Actually Futurama is the only show on that list I've heard of

[#26 :]

2.9 million was considered incredibly high for Rebirth, which was a well advertised premiere, so I think staying above two million would definitely be enough to renew. But I'm far from the greatest expert on the subject.

[#27 :]

Never heard of those two shows. I am so out of the loop these days.

Both of them are on the USA channel.  Burn Notice is in it's 3rd or 4th season; it's the second season for Royal Pains.

[#28 :]

There should be one thread for ratings methinks.
Also, I've heard of Burn Notice and Royal Pains, but haven't watched them.

[#29 :]

Agreed, there should be a ratings thread. It's incredibly important right now, seeing as the show very possibly won't be renewed.

[#30 :]

I've watched Burn Notice and I think it's awesome, but I've never heard of Royal Pains....
I have to admit I don't understand very well how the ratings work in America, but seeing as Futurama is in the top 3 doesn't that make it a possible choice for renewing?
2.159 million viewers is low? (I get it's much lower than 5 million, but still...)

[#31 :]

It's not just premiere ratings that count, though. I think the show is going to depend on reruns and DVD sales to stay profitable, just as before. So if you are a nielson family, be sure to keep watching! And buy the DVDs.

I like that the show is on iTunes. I wonder if it's selling well?

[#32 :]

It's not just premiere ratings that count, though. I think the show is going to depend on reruns and DVD sales to stay profitable, just as before. So if you are a nielson family, be sure to keep watching! And buy the DVDs.

I hate myself for not being able to watch it in America, instead of having to download it illegally just to see it. But at least I buy the DVDs.

[#33 :]

The initial showing isn't the only thing that matters - can the new episodes increase CC's viewership on the 2 am slots in the middle of the week?

[#34 :]

The rating that advertisers really pay attention to is the 18-49-year-old demographic rating. And you'll notice that Futurama's was quite high. Only Burn Notice and Royal Pains beat it, and not by much.

[#35 :]

merged the two active ratings threads; we just need the one, it'll make it easier later to compare new ep ratings to previous, etc.

[#36 :]

I like that the show is on iTunes. I wonder if it's selling well?

 

It's been charting quite well; in fact, "Attack of the Killer App" is currently the #1 seller in the TV section!  I saw before that "Rebirth" was highly ranked on Amazon as well.

[#37 :]

iTunes has been advertising Futurama as well. Near the top of the home page they had a link to the episodes. They also sent out e-mails showcasing Futurama on iTunes. I think everybody's doing all they can to make sure Futurama returns, which is odd given, you know, the entirety of time up until now.

[#38 :]

That's unfortunate that Futurama's ratings dropped to a little over 2 million viewers this week. I've never really understood how viewership fluctuates so much week to week. I imagine those approx. 700,000 must be the non-Futurama fans who only tuned in last week because they were curious. I've been disappointed by these new Futurama episodes thus far, and don't feel they're representative at how great and hilarious the show can be; so I don't blame those people for not tuning in this week. I just hope that Futurama recaptures its magic from Season 4 soon, so hopefully it'll lure those people back, and attract even more viewers.

[#39 :]

I'm not an expert on the whole ratings business, but I think comedy shows tend to fluctuate in ratings because the episodes are usually...not interchangeable, of course, but often disconnected from each other, at least insofar as you could tune in to any random episode and still understand the show.  Many drama series you have to keep up with week to week, but if you miss an episode of a sitcom (animated or otherwise) it usually doesn't effect the following episode much.  And, especially with something like Futurama that is repeated so much now, it's easy enough to just catch a rerun at some later point.  Or an internet stream, depending on the show.

I think the premiere shows got such a big audience because it was a major event for a beloved show to come back after seven years.  Afterwords, it's easy enough to catch the repeats if need be.  At least, I think that would be the logic for much of the audience.