Simpsons Ratings 2009/10

[Jesse Pinkman]

if there's this much interest and wondering if the sound is important, I might as well transcribe it. the scene starts with the Manning brothers being happy with each other and successful, and then turns slightly real-brother-y.

Eli throws football through tire hanging from a tree branch.
Peyton: That's a perfect spiral, Eli!
Eli: Winning a super bowl just doesn't compare to chuckin the ball around with my brother
Cooper: it's easy being a winner in the pros ... try winning two high school basketball championships like I did.
Eli: good for you squirt
Cooper: but I'm the oldest
Peyton: keep away from Cooper!
[commence promo image]
Trail off to see Bart looking a bit disturbed by this.

Cool, thanks. Wasn't funny or... interesting to be honest, but hopefully the rest is

[Fox Executive]

Early ratings for OBWBT:

Fox was off, but not running with two episodes of waiting-to-be axed sitcom Brothers at an average 2.4/ 4 from 7-8 p.m. Next was old faithful The Simpsons (#4: 4.1/ 6), followed by freshman The Cleveland Show (#4: 3.6/ 5), Family Guy (#4: 4.2/ 6) and American Dad (#4: 3.5/ 5). While Fox may not seem overly impressive based on the overnights, keep in mind that there is always interest among adults 18-49.

So that would be about 7 million viewers. Certainly more than last year's "x-mas episode" The Burns and the Bees, which scored 6.19 million viewers. Thank the Mannings for that.

[Fox Executive]

OK, here we go:

Fox was off, but not running with two episodes of waiting-to-be axed sitcom Brothers at an average 3.08 million viewers and a 1.1/ 3 among adults 18-49 from 7-8 p.m. Next was old faithful The Simpsons (Viewers: #4, 7.11 million; A18-49: #2, 3.2/ 8), followed by freshman The Cleveland Show (Viewers: #4, 6.52 million; A18-49: #3, 3.0/ 7), Family Guy (Viewers: #4, 7.68 million; A18-49: #2, 3.8/ 9) and American Dad (Viewers: #4, 6.19 million; A18-49: #3, 3.1/ 7). Worth positively noting for Family Guy was growth out of The Cleveland Show of 1.16 million viewers and 27 percent in the demo.

Against a close SNF game with popular teams and no NFL overrun, the Fox line up suffered compared to their last original telecasts on 11/29. The Simpsons was down 23% to a 3.2 adults 18-49 rating. The Cleveland Show fell 9% to a 3.0 rating. Family Guy dropped 14% to a 3.8 rating. American Dad was down 6% to a 3.1 rating.

And in table form:
7:00 - Brothers - 3.350 (#4 in its timeslot) - 1.1/3 (#4 in its timeslot)
7:30 - Brothers - 2.811 (#4) - 1.0/3 (#4)
8;00 - The Simpsons - 7.106 (#4) - 3.2/8 (#2, SEASON LOW)
8:30 - The Cleveland Show - 6.517 (#4) - 3.0/7 (#3, SEASON LOW)
9:00 - Family Guy - 7.676 (#4) - 3.8/9 (#2, SEASON LOW IN THIS TIMESLOT)
9:30 - American Dad - 6.193 (#4) - 3.1/7 (#3)

OK, that wasn't great or anything, but still well over last year's x-mas episode. But the 18-49 rating for this episode was well below the average, I assume many old guys tuned in to see the Mannings. Or a lot of teens. Probably the first.

[Bella Drape 'er]

At least most of them pretty much got season lows as well, instead of just the Simpsons.

Anyway, these ratings pleased me, glad to see we might not have another like season 20 where we get loads of "lowest-rated episodes ever".

[BartSimpsonfan17]

Wow The Simpsons droped 23% Well that sucks, such a good episode too. Curse you Football!

[bartyboy]

why????

[Fox Executive]

another drop, but still no season low (viewer-wise). here are the finals:

The Simpsons (7:59pm, 31 minutes)
- 6.974 million viewers
- 3.8/6 HH
- 3.2/8 A18-49

The Cleveland Show
- 6.526 million viewers
- 3.7/6 HH
- 3.0/7 A18-49

Family Guy (31 minutes)
- 7.664 million viewers
- 4.4/7 HH
- 3.8/9 A18-49

American Dad (29 minutes)
- 6.195 million viewers
- 3.6/5 HH
- 3.1/7 A18-49

[Jesse Pinkman]

Low ratings is getting upsetting. At least it's now below 6 million or anything. Hopefully other episodes do better. They had a chance at good ratings, if they advertised the Manning Brothers, The Smothers Brothers, if they advertised the episode and the guest stars they could've done great viewer-wise

[Fox Executive]

yeah, proper promotion could easily add another million viewers. But as I said, OBWBT still did better than last year's x-mas ep.

and the cancellation index on page 2 is updated again.
and OBWBT was the #21 show in terms of 18-49 ratings.

Edit: and here are the new hulu-charts.

And another edit: I just noticed that the new episode on Jan. 3 has a football lead-in. So instead of burning off new episodes when nobody watches them, Fox is trying to boost the viewers.

[Jesse Pinkman]

yeah, proper promotion could easily add another million viewers. But as I said, OBWBT still did better than last year's x-mas ep.

and the cancellation index on page 2 is updated again.
and OBWBT was the #21 show in terms of 18-49 ratings.

Edit: and here are the new hulu-charts.

And another edit: I just noticed that the new episode on Jan. 3 has a football lead-in. So instead of burning off new episodes when nobody watches them, Fox is trying to boost the viewers.

Hopefully that one gets good viewers. It's all I want! Good ratings on a consistent basis!

[Fox Executive]

Don't know if this really belongs here, but it appears that Fox is currently messing around with their mid-season lineup. It's been reported that The Cleveland show will stay at 8:30 and Sons of Tuscon will move to 9:30. SoT premieres March 14, and until then, American Dad will air at 9:30.
This move is good news for the guys who hate TCS. I think TCS should've been aired at 9:30 from the start. It would keep the FG-viewers around, because it's basically the same show. American Dad is the weak link of the Sunday night lineup now, so it could've been moved to 8:30 without a huge loss of viewers. It's also been reported that American Dad will eventually return to the 9:30 slot, which means that it will probably air in the summer. Consider AD dead after next season is what that means.

Current Schedule:
8:00 - The Simpsons
8:30 - The Cleveland Show
9:00 - Family Guy
9:30 - American Dad

Spring schedule
8:00 - The Simpsons
8:30 - The Cleveland Show
9:00 - Family Guy
9:30 - Sons of Tuscon

Summer Schedule (not confirmed yet)
8:00 - The Simpsons (rerun)
8:30 - The Cleveland Show (rerun)
9:00 - Family Guy (rerun)
0:30 - American Dad

[Fox Executive]

Here's another thing that I haven't talked about at all but that might interest you if you're a TV nerd. Fox is currently negotiating with Time Warner Cable (a cable provider) because their carriage agreement ends on December 31. Fox wants more money, but TWC doesn't want to pay more, so they're playing hardball, which means that there is a (REALLY) small possibility that TW will not be carrying Fox in 2010. And now Fox is trying to get TWC clients to change their provider, because a big part of TW's 14 million subscribers will not be pleased if they can't watch "The 17th week of the NFL and the playoffs, American Idol, 24, Glee, House, Fringe, The Simpsons, Family Guy and other exciting FOX programming"
Here's a nice article on this issue.



And, of course, Fox is playing the victim with lines like "you can't watch these shows anymore:"



So what this means is that Fox will make more money next year.

[Disgruntled Goat]

That's exactly what happened with Sky and Virgin Media a couple of years ago. Sky (owned by the other Murdoch) were being complete bastards and Sky One was not available on VM for a while. I think they kissed and made up in the end.

[Fox Executive]

That's exactly what happened with Sky and Virgin Media a couple of years ago. Sky (owned by the other Murdoch) were being complete bastards and Sky One was not available on VM for a while. I think they kissed and made up in the end.

Yes, I've read somewhere that Sky and Virgin were once in a similar situation. And the whole thing once happened wilth ABC in 2000 or 2001 also with TWC. ABC was not available on TWC for 48 hours in some regions and TWC reportedly just aired a bluescreen that said "Disney took ABC away from you".
But ABC was the #4 network at that time, while Fox is #1 now. If TWC wouldn't reach an agreement with Fox (which they undoubtedly will), I'm pretty sure that half of these 13 million subscribers would change providers. And that would destroy TWC.

Bottom line: Rupert Murdoch does control the world.

[Fox Executive]

OK, there weren't any new episodes of any show on Fox, but check this out:

Fox, meanwhile, got off to a roaring start with an approximate 30-minute primetime football overrun at a whopping 20.10 million viewers and a 7.1/21 among adults 18-49 at 7 p.m., followed by post-game The OT at 19.08 million viewers and a 7.0/20 in the demo at 7:30 p.m. That led into repeats of The Simpsons (Viewers: #3, 8.22 million; A18-49: #3, 3.8/10). The Cleveland Show (Viewers: #4, 5.92 million; A18-49: #3, 2.8/ 7), Family Guy (Viewers: #4, 6.29 million; A18-49: #3, 3.1/ 8) and American Dad (Viewers: #4, 5.14 million; A18-49: #3, 2.5/ 6) from 8-10 p.m.

The table:
7:00 - NFL on Fox - 20.103 million viewers (#1) - 7.1/21 demo (#1)
7:30 - NFL on Fox - 19.084 (#1) - 7.0/20 (#1)
8:00 - The Simpsons (rerun) - 8.224 (#3) - 3.8/10 (#3)
8:30 - The Cleveland Show (rerun) - 5.917 (#4) - 2.8/7 (#3)
9:00 - Family Guy (rerun) - 6.288 (#4) - 3.1/8 (#3)
9:30 - American Dad (rerun) - 5.154 (#4) - 2.5/6 (#3)

So this rerun of Mypods and Boomsticks (3.8) did much better than O Brother, where Bart thou did last week (3.2). Another proof that Football rules.
By the way, the Steelers game was awesome. It ended 37-36 with a touchdown pass from Big Ben to Mike Wallace in the very last second of the game and it run over well into the 7:30 slot.
And last night's airing was also the first Simpsons-episode I've seen live from europe. 8 pm EST = 2am CET, so I was pretty tired when this thing finally ended.

Edit: But of course, these numbers of The Simpsons will drop in the finals.

[bartyboy]

suck it seth

[Jesse Pinkman]

So a rerun did better then an actual one...? Weird

[biffwestwood]

But what has been happening in recent years is that when football season is over, The simpsons ratings end up falling.

The Simpsons would've probably been cancelled a few years back if Fox didn't obtain the rights to football back in 1994.

I also remember that once fox started airing football in August of 1994, The Simpsons moved from Thursdays to back to Sunday.

It seems that many viewers stick with the network once the football game ends.

Football, The World Series, The Simpsons, and more recently American Idol are the "earth, air, fire, and water" that binds Fox.

[Fox Executive]

But what has been happening in recent years is that when football season is over, The simpsons ratings end up falling.

The Simpsons would've probably been cancelled a few years back if Fox didn't obtain the rights to football back in 1994.

I also remember that once fox started airing football in August of 1994, The Simpsons moved from Thursdays to back to Sunday.

It seems that many viewers stick with the network once the football game ends.

Football, The World Series, The Simpsons, and more recently American Idol are the "earth, air, fire, and water" that binds Fox.

1. I briefly mentioned that the ratings will fall in the finals
2. No way in hell.
3. Yes, that's an interesting observation.
4. A good lead-in is a big advantage for a show, especially if the lead-in is watched by 20+ million viewers.
5.I would agree, but take out The Simpsons and put in House. TS once was Fox's flagship, but now it's just a show that does pretty well. AI on the other hand is the sole reason shows like House and 24 even exist and it's also the reason why Fox has been #1 for a couple of years now. AI is a monster: The highest-rated scripted show (probably The Big Bang Theory or Grey's Anatomy) have an average of maybe 5.5, but AI gets an 7.5 or even more twice a week. Now that's a show every network wants to have.

[Fox Executive]

http://tvbythenumbers.com/2009/12/22...f-charts/36955

That's a link to the top shows of the past week. For the first time this seasons, The Simpsons made the list for most viewers as well. They reached #20 with a total of 8.146 million viewers. The drop in viewers was really small (TAKE THAT, biffwestwood). and just to day it once again, IT WAS A FREAKIN' RERUN!
In the list of the 18-49 demo results, The Simpsons reached #9, the best rank the show has reached since THOH XIX. Family Guy was #20, The Cleveland Show was #22 and American Dad #25.
That's some crazy shit right there. Sure, a lot of shows were in reruns this week, i.e. House, Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy, but this is nevertheless a brilliant outing ratings-wise. And just for comparison, the Desperate Housewives repeat got a 1.2 18-49 rating. The great ratings for reruns is another reason why TS, TCS, FG and AD are all highly profitable shows.
And of course, god bless football. And the Steelers.



Edit: I thought I can post the Season averages for the first part of the season here:

New episodes only (in brackets: last year's average in 2008 and this year's average compared to it):
8,229,875 viewers (8,520,000; -3.41%)
3.94/10.1 18-49 rating/share (4.04/10; -2.48%)
5,176,875 viewers between 18 and 49 (N/A; N/A)

Including reruns (2 so far, another one will be aired on Dec. 27):
7,810,500 viewers
3.74/9.7 18-49 rating/share
4,912,100 viewers between 18 and 49

And let's not forget that THOH XIX with its 12.5 million viewers and 6.2 demo boosted last year's ratings, I'd say this season so far has been a big success.

[BartSimpsonfan17]

That's weird that The Simpsons rerun did better than a new episode. FootBall does raise ratings I guess. Family Guys in a rerun too, people want to see new episodes so meh.

[Fox Executive]

Cancellation index on page 2 is now updated.

Edit: I often complain about the show not getting promoted enough by Fox. Well, seems like Fox finally got around. Chick this out:

http://www.foxflash.com/div.php/main...76z3z8&ID=5563

FOX TURNS YELLOW WITH “SIMPSONS” FEVER THIS JANUARY



Network Honors 20th Anniversary of THE SIMPSONS by Turning Yellow



As the momentous conclusion of the “Best. 20 Years. Ever.,” a year-long global celebration honoring all things THE SIMPSONS, approaches, FOX is toasting television’s favorite family by turning yellow for one week beginning Sunday, Jan. 3. The 20th anniversary will culminate on Sunday, Jan. 10 with the landmark 450th episode, “Once Upon a Time in Springfield” (8:00-8:30 PM ET/PT), followed by THE SIMPSONS 20TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL: IN 3-D! ON ICE! (8:30-9:30 PM ET/PT) on FOX.



Throughout the week, FOX will incorporate the famous SIMPSONS yellow into on-air graphics and promotional spots that will run on the network and will be provided to FOX affiliates. SIMPSONS yellow will also be featured prominently on the network’s website, FOX.com.



Highlights of the “yellow” campaign include:



On-Air

* The FOX logo and other on-air graphic elements such as lower-third promotional messaging will be turned yellow throughout the week
* SIMPSONS-themed animated lower-third graphics will appear in select primetime programming
* Promotional spots counting down to THE SIMPSONS anniversary celebration will air nightly
* SIMPSONS-themed FOX frames featuring Homer and “Simpsonized” messages will appear throughout primetime
* Congratulatory promotional spots featuring Anne Hathaway, Ryan Seacrest, Chris Martin, Ellen Page and Josh Groban, among others will air throughout the week
* SIMPSONS presence in FOX Sports NFL game



Online

* The FOX.com homepage and additional pages will feature a SIMPSONS yellow background
* FOX social networking pages, including Facebook, Twitter and MySpace, among other websites, will feature SIMPSONS themes



Local/FOX Affiliate

* FOX affiliates will also go “yellow” using SIMPSONS yellow-themed promos throughout the week
* In addition to on-air support, to generate additional interest at the local level, life-size “Kent Brockman” (Host of Springfield’s Channel 6 News on THE SIMPSONS) standees, standees of the SIMPSONS family sitting on their iconic couch and yellow ties will be sent to affiliates for their use on-air



Now the longest-running comedy in television history, THE SIMPSONS immediately struck a chord with viewers across the country as it poked fun of itself and everything in its wake. With its subversive humor and delightful wit, the series has made an indelible imprint on American pop culture, and the family members have become television icons. Adding to its list of prestigious accolades, THE SIMPSONS was nominated this year for five Emmy Awards, including one win for Dan Castellaneta as Outstanding Voiceover Performer; five Writers Guild Awards; and four Annie Awards, including Best Animated Television Production.



THE SIMPSONS is a Gracie Films Production in association with 20th Century Fox Television. James L. Brooks, Matt Groening and Al Jean are the executive producers. Film Roman, a Starz Media Company, is the animation house.

[Fox Executive]

The last episode of the year was a rerun of The Great Wife Hope. But most of The Simpson' fans probably don't like the episode:

7:00 - Brothers - 2.34 (#4) - 0.8/2 (#4)
7:30 - Brothers - 1.89 (#4) - 0.6/2 (#4)
8:00 - Simpsons - 4.16 (#4) - 1.8/5 (#3)
8:30 - Cleveland - 4.20 (#4) - 2.0/5 (#3)
9:00 - Family Guy - 5.08 (#4) - 2.5/6 (#2)
9:30 - American Dad - 4.16 (#4) - 2.0/5 (#2)

This marks the first time since about 2 months that TCS beats TS and it was also the first time AD beats TS this season. But since the episodes were reruns, WHO GIVES A FUCK.

[Jesse Pinkman]

Agreed, it was only a rerun, at least they didn't beat TS during a new episode

[Cash Kerouac]

Come on guys. Last week a Simpsons rerun skunks the rest of Animation Domination and there's cheering in our virtual streets. This week it's a disappointing outing and we write it off as just a rerun? Again I say, come on.

[Fox Executive]

Come on guys. Last week a Simpsons rerun skunks the rest of Animation Domination and there's cheering in our virtual streets. This week it's a disappointing outing and we write it off as just a rerun? Again I say, come on.

True, but the episode that aired a week ago was decent whereas Sunday's episode sucked imo.

[Cash Kerouac]

Do you think that people outside of our CBG-like cabal know ahead of time what episode is airing and judge whether to watch based on that?

[Fox Executive]

No, but they see it after a couple of minutes and then they change the channel to NBC to watch the game.

[Jesse Pinkman]

Do you think that people outside of our CBG-like cabal know ahead of time what episode is airing and judge whether to watch based on that?

It's pretty easy to tell. I have Direct TV, and all I have to do is go to my Fox and go to the time Simpsons is on for me. For instance, today All About Lisa is airing. Tomorrow, Homer and Ned's Hail Mary Pass. Wednesday, Pranksta Rap. That's not to say that all fans who only casually watch know that, but it is easy to tell the episode airing on any particular day

[Cash Kerouac]

Sure, but I don't think those titles mean much to people outside of our neighborhood. For the record, I thought both of the episodes from the last two weeks were pretty mediocre at best, but I really don't think that had much of an effect in terms of ratings, even for reruns. If you can attribute anything besides a football lead in to last weeks' success, I'd say it's the quality of "O Brother Where Bart Thou" the week prior, making people wonder what other good stuff the show might have in store next week.