Last Updated: 10th May 2014
This post was originally written by SpoilerTV Contributor, TheSpoilerGirl.
I’ve been fascinated with TV Ratings for several years after wondering why some of my favourite TV shows were getting cancelled. So it was great that I stumbled on SpoilerTV and their detailed daily ratings, Full Tables and their excellent Cancellation/Renew Tables.
As a result I've tried to come up with my own formula/ratings to see how well a show is performing and after chatting with DarkUFO and he’s allowed me to make this a post on the site that I hope to keep updated fairly regularly, probably each Monday.
It will be interesting to see how closely this matches with the Official SpoilerTV Cancellation Chart and if it is more or less accurate.
I've tried to simplify the formula to come up with a “Score” for each broadcast show. The formula is basically calculated as follows
- The bulk of the “score” comes from the 18-49 Rating as this is where the bulk of the advertising money and hence profits for a show come from
- We also look at the total number of viewers and give shows with large numbers a better weighting
- Shows that are on Fridays get an increased weighting as these tend to have lower numbers
- Shows on the CW also get a weighting increase as it's a much smaller network than the big 4 (ABC/CBS/FOX/NBC)
- Shows which have 5 or more seasons get an increased weighting as they are likely to be in Syndication
Let’s look at some examples to show you what I mean.
Example 1
Show 1 on ABC has a 18-49 rating of 2.1 and has 10 Million viewers
Show 2 on ABC has a 18-49 rating of 2.1 and has 20 Million viewers
Show 2 will have a better “score” as it has more total viewers
Example 2
Show 1 on ABC has a 18-49 rating of 2.1 and has 10 Million viewers. It airs on Mondays
Show 2 on ABC has a 18-49 rating of 2.1 and has 10 Million viewers. It airs on Fridays
Show 2 will have a better “score” as it airs on Fridays
Example 3
Show 1 on ABC has a 18-49 rating of 0.9 and has 3 Million viewers.
Show 2 on CW has a 18-49 rating of 0.9 and has 3 Million viewers.
Show 2 will have a better “score” as it airs on The CW
Example 4
Show 1 on ABC has a 18-49 rating of 2.1 and has 10 Million viewers. This is a new show
Show 2 on ABC has a 18-49 rating of 2.1 and has 10 Million viewers. Show is in it’s 5th Season
Show 2 will have a better “score” as it been running longer
So here is the full table so far. Obviously shows with a low score are not doing very well and shows with a large score are doing very well and are more likely to be renewed.
Can't see the table? Check out our Troubleshooting Guide
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