Topic: Emmys 2011

[slayton]

When I bring up ratings for a show, I'm referring to the average for the entire show, and not each half hour/quarter hour.

I only brought up those four shows because the viewership totals that you gave for three of them were too low, apskip.  The numbers for the other shows on your list looked about right.

I don't claim to be a ratings expert.  I do follow the ratings for certain shows, and if someone were to claim to the ratings experts that American Idol averaged 16 million viewers and Dancing with the Stars averaged 14.5 million viewers, the experts would correct that person immediately.

I don't know where you get your numbers from, apskip.  I reference sites like thefutoncritic and tvbythenumbers because they are in the business of reporting ratings.

[theschnauzers]

As I'm sure mswood would agree with me on this -- you have to be very careful in looking at season average ratings numbers for any show. Nielsen has some surprising quirks in their calculations, such as annual changes in the number of viewers represented by a ratings point, and the fact that an episode of a show designated as a "special" is not included in season averages, even if it airs at the normal time.
So one needs to make sure you are comparing apples and apples and not aplles and oranges.

[slayton]

In order to maintain consistency, here are the top 39 shows based on total viewership for the full 2010-2011 season as reported by Deadline (with reality shows in bold):

2010-11 Season: Series Ranking In Total Viewers (in thousands)

1    AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY    FOX    25,864
2    AMERICAN IDOL-THURSDAY    FOX    23,798
3    DANCING WITH THE STARS    ABC    21,927
4    NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL    NBC    21,025
5    NCIS    CBS    19,377
6    DANCING W/STARS RESULTS    ABC    18,612
7    NCIS: LOS ANGELES    CBS    16,467
9    THE MENTALIST    CBS    15,328
10    CRIMINAL MINDS    CBS    14,026
10    CSI    CBS    13,626
11    SURVIVOR: NICARAGUA    CBS    13,611
12    60 MINUTES    CBS    13,347
13    THE BIG BANG THEORY   CBS    13,212
14    BODY OF PROOF ABC    13,060
15    THE GOOD WIFE    CBS    12,906
16    TWO AND A HALF MEN    CBS    12,718
17    BLUE BLOODS CBS    12,709
18    SURVIVOR: REDEMPTION ISLD    CBS    12,585
19    UNDERCOVER BOSS    CBS    12,158
20    THE VOICE NBC    11,973
21    CSI: MIAMI    CBS    11,971
22    AMAZING RACE 17    CBS    11,925
23    HAWAII FIVE-0 CBS    11,869
24    MODERN FAMILY    ABC    11,759
25    DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES    ABC    11,678
26  HARRY’S LAW NBC    11,645
27    BONES    FOX    11,461
28    CASTLE    ABC    11,352
29    GREY’S ANATOMY    ABC    11,320
30    DANCING W/STARS-TUE 8PM    ABC    11,271
31    SECRET MILLIONAIRE ABC    11,164
32    MIKE & MOLLY CBS    11,084
33    CSI: NY    CBS    10,821
34    FOOTBALL NT AMERICA PT 3    NBC    10,804
35    THE BACHELOR    ABC    10,793
36   $#*! MY DAD SAYS CBS    10,686
37    THE DEFENDERS CBS    10,470
38    CRIMINAL MINDS: SUSPECT BEHAVIOR CBS    10,459
39    AMAZING RACE 18    CBS    10,351

http://www.deadline.com/2011/05/full-2010-11-season-series-rankers/

[theschnauzers]

Taking the two seasons of TAR together, those numbers would average just over 11 million. But as I noted before, season averages used in the entertainment industry media do not include episodes denominated as "special."  It's a crazy system, but that is how they work.