Ratings of Ep 216 - I Helu Pu

[Diana]

Good News while I don't have exact numbers yet (will have them posted as soon as I do), it appears that H50 has retaken it's top spot at 10pm. As it came in first with Castle coming in second, while Smash dropped to third in timeslot. So it appears that not only is Smash not the "smash" hit everyone thought it would be.

[gbird]

Thanks Diana, that is more good news.

[Dannos Dani]

If yesterday's storyline didn't make the ratings go up, nothing would.

[darksea]

If anything, the storyline didn't make the ratings go up, the fact that Lori Weston's exit was quietly spread through the ranks would have done that. The storyline of last night's episode needed dramamine and a map.

[Dannos Dani]

yeah, that's what I meant by storyline. Just didn't explain it well at all. Old fans came out of the woodwork, just to see if it was true. And the teenyboppers were hanging on their baby seats, just hoping it wasn't true.

[Diana]

Well, I got good news and I got some really bad news.

NBC Smash 2.8 (18-49 Demo) 8.09 (Million Viewers)
CBS Hawaii Five-0 2.6 (18-49 Demo) 9.52 (Million Viewers)
ABC Castle 2.0 (18-49 Demo) 8.88 (Million Viewers)

While we won in overall viewers, it is actually down from last week by 280,000 viewers, we are under 10 million for the second week in a row and the demo went down by 0.1 which we lost to Smash. (See below for last week.)

What this means is that Smash is definitely drawing viewers away from H50. The question is this a temporary trend due to Smash being new and people giving it a chance who might eventually decide to give up on and then those viewers will return to H50, or has the debacle with Lori dragged on so long that people have decided to permanently check and not return to H50 even though she now gone? Either way this is not a good thing to be happening in the middle of Feb Sweeps. Also, what impact will the return of DWTS have on Castle when it returns in March?

Last Week's Numbers for Comparison
NBC Smash (Series Premiere) 3.8 (18-49 Demo) 11.50
CBS Hawaii Five-0 2.7(18-49 Demo) 9.80 (Million Viewers)
ABC Castle 2.0(18-49 Demo) 8.72 (Million Viewers)

[nycgal]

It was a really tough night for all CBS shows demo-wise, as per TVBTN:

Every CBS show hit a season low on Monday night. How I Met Your Mother had a season low 3.4 adults 18-49 rating, down 15% vs. a 4.0 rating last week. 2 Broke Girls also hit a season low 3.7 adults 18-49 rating was down 14% vs. a 4.3 rating last week. Two and a Half Men's 3.8 adults 18-49 rating was also a season low, down 12% vs. a 4.3 rating last week. Mike & Molly had a season low 3.3 adults 18-49 rating, down a tenth vs. a season low 3.4 rating last week. Hawaii Five-0 had a 2.6 adults 18-49 rating, down a tenth vs. a 2.7 rating last week which tied its season low.

[Leni]

I watched Smash on demand this morning and half way through I found myself doing other stuff. Last week it caught my attention, but I dont see it having longevity, as it will get old quickly. Lets hope that now that LoHo is gone, viewers will return to H50

[runner]

Maybe some viewers just knew this episode would be Bori-heavy and decided to pass until next week.

[davilarose]

Wow----I have been holding my breath waiting on the ratings report.....wonder how this will all shake out in the end.

[chazak]

I don't know if it's all attributable to Lori. Even trying to control for her presence, the writing has been sub-par this season. Character development is stilted and some of the plots don't hang together well and have too many unrealistic elements or loose ends that don't make sense. For example, the invasion of the Russian consulate last night in violation of all existing norms of diplomatic immunity. It was cool action but you just don't DO that. Or waltzing across the DMZ into North Korea undetected. Or that confusing BS case with a petty workers comp suit turning into some big murder conspiracy.Almost every week I turn the TV off at 11pm and think, "Well, I liked that, but let's try to ignore Plot Holes A, B, C, and D." The hardcore fans who really, really love the characters/actors can let those kinds of things slide and keep watching, but many more casual viewers will roll their eyes and change the channel, or finish the episode but not bother next week. And unfortunately the writers have been giving them plenty of excuses. Lori's departure is good, but the overall writing has got to improve.

[ls]

I think people tuning in to Smash is only a temporary thing. It's only 2 episodes in and people are tuning in just to see what it's all about, especially ones who are interested in a TV musical but more "mature" than what Glee offers. (Especially since Glee this season, as well as part of season 2, has become a bit of a mess.) But I think that when people realize it's really not what they thought it was initially they will probably stop.

[Musicfreak]

I watched the first episode of Smash, it was...eh. Just eh. Like it was really wanting to be more. It was slow moving, and honestly, it would have made a good movie, but not a series. They have to drag out this one main story line, and it will get tired, fast.

[keira]

At the risk of seeming disagreeable, I don't think Lori is the main driver behind the declining ratings. Yes, everything that has been said about this character not being developed, etc., is all true. But had the writing remained strong, with the elements from S1 that made it Must-See TV for me, I would have still enjoyed the show. As it is, there were some episodes I just couldn't watch.

I agree with Chazak about the subpar writing this season. H50 has added some new producers/writers this season, and I don't know if that's the problem or if the executive producers just don't know what direction they want to take with this show. Storylines were too drawn out, to the point I became irritated. I really liked the relationship between these main characters, and that has been largely missing this season. That seems to be the issue when I talk with people around the office about the show.

Another thing, I realize these actors are a few hours from LA, but when AOL was recently in LA to promote Aussie commerce, I kept looking to see if he would do some H50 promotion. He didn't seem to do any. I think the show could use some major promotion from its stars, especially him. The mag interviews he does just don't reach the number of people that a visit to a daytime or latenight talkshow would. Maybe I've missed some promotion, though, so I'm offering that caveat.

[nycgal]

"Smash" might be such a smash afterall....

From the NY Daily News:

Competition for H50 or not so much?

‘Smash’ drops 25% of viewers in second week, leading to worries over NBC series’ hit potential

NBC’s “Smash” is looking like it might not be.

The ambitious ensemble drama about the making of a Broadway musical on Marilyn Monroe lost a quarter of its audience between its debut last week and this Monday night.

Most shows lose some viewers after the first week, when some of the samplers don’t return. But 25% is more than the usual attrition.

Nielsen estimated total viewership for “Smash” Monday night at slightly over 8 million. That put it behind ABC’s “Castle” and CBS’ “Hawaii Five-O,” though “Smash” outperformed both among viewers 18 to 49, which is the crowd advertisers really want.

The eight million is about half the audience for the show that precedes “Smash,” the hit talent search “The Voice.”

That’s also a sizable drop, and there had already been some concern about “Smash” in its opening week when it lost viewers as the first episode went along.

A possible encouraging factor for “Smash” is that television viewing in general was down this Monday.

“The Voice,” while still easily the biggest hit on NBC, was down about 12%.