"Razor" ratings

[Joe Beaudoin Jr.]

So it looks like Razor pulled the same ratings as the average Season 3 episode:

http://www.syfyportal.com/news424483.html

[aylinn]

Who gives a frak about ratings? We fans know better :D

[Aset]

The question is...how many downloads? And How many Tivo's?

[Joe Beaudoin Jr.]

And how many DVDs of it will be purchased.

I know of many people who only watch BSG (or other shows/movies) only through DVD, and don't watch cable/satellite television at all.

[OrionFour]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Razor actually got ratings a lot lower than Season 3 (or does that 18-49 thing have something to do with that?).
http://en.battlestarwiki.org/wiki/List_of_Nielsen_ratings_%28RDM%29

The article mentions that it has a lot to do with the Thanksgiving holiday, and the fact that it was aired the day after "Black Friday", although I suspect that it also has a lot to do with the screener leak.

[Joe Beaudoin Jr.]

0.8 is the rating in between 18-49... other age brackets weren't in the report.

Typically, the Thanksgiving holiday is the lowest point in television, simply because most people are with their families or out getting the "day after" deals.

Ironically, BW & Forum traffic shot up during this period, which was surprising to me.

Anyway, I think that the screener may have had a dent, but not too large of one. Otherwise, Season 1 would've suffered as well back when it was made available for illegal download after it aired on Sky One.

What I think caused people not to tune in was the fact that they can see the unrated, full version on DVD when it comes out less than two weeks later.

To be honest, I have very little faith in the Nielsen ratings system, particularly with TiVo, internet downloading (legal and illegal) and the fact that I can buy this on DVD, without having to suffer through commercials.

[ThPrime]

A little analysis in these two links, against BSG Season 3 ratings and other 2007 Saturday Sci Fi premieres:

Fast nationals (HH overnights and DVR same day):

Futon Critic: CABLE RATINGS ROUND-UP (WEEK OF NOVEMBER 19-25): 'TEQUILA' SCORES, 'RAZOR' FALTERS
(http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=7509)
A cheerful Sci Fi press release quickly followed:

Futon Critic: SCI FI CHANNEL GROWTH TREND FOR '07 CONTINUES WITH BEST NOVEMBER EVER (http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=20071129scifi01)

No quotes per Futon's policy.

[JDS]

I'm not a bit surprised.

Think about it, would Razor have made any sense or been worth watching if you hadn't ever seen BSG before?

It's a good thing in my opinion. I don't want BSG to be "accessible" to "new viewers". If you want to watch the show, watch the frakking DVDs from the beginning. There is absolutely no reason why a show like this should be designed to be watched starting at any random point.

[Spencerian]

Battlestar's only real flaw as a series (if one can call it that) is that an attention span is required. Just as a novel won't make sense if you start reading from the center of the book, neither will Battlestar or any other serialized show, like Lost.

In some ways I find it sad that more people can remember and tune in to every damned sports show or game but fewer of them now watch a series from episode to episode, even the shows that are genuinely episodic, like sit-coms. Our society is becoming all too "Oh looook....something shiny!"

[JDS]

That's really not a flaw. If people have a problem with it, THEY have a flaw. BSG is not and should not be an anthology.

[OrionFour]

If people have a problem with it, THEY have a flaw. BSG is not and should not be an anthology.

So say we all!

[Aset]

Actually, I think this type of show will excel in an age of DVR's & TiVo, People can watch it when they have the time instead of making time to watch it when it airs. The question is, how will the ratings fit in & how will they be measured?

[1008]

And how many DVDs of it will be purchased.

I know of many people who only watch BSG (or other shows/movies) only through DVD, and don't watch cable/satellite television at all.

Exactly, I only started 2 months ago, watched all of them on DVD and now am waiting for April. Have to probably download it as not sure how long I'll have to wait in Ireland for it!

It's just the gods damn greatest!

[Ralf_hawkins]

Who gives a frak about ratings? We fans know better :D

I give a Frak!
The show needs a bit of good ratings or it can be move to another time or worst it can be canceled. Forcing the fans to wait for the DVDs. I'm tired of waiting. :mad:

[Ralf_hawkins]

I'm not a bit surprised.

Think about it, would Razor have made any sense or been worth watching if you hadn't ever seen BSG before?

For the newcomer, the space battles and drama could have made him or her curious enough to be interested in the series.

[Aset]

Personally, I think they need to find a better way of measuring the viewership. The current system simply doesn't cover it anymore.

[Joe Beaudoin Jr.]

The only real accurate measures of viewership are DVD and internet sales, in addition to rentals. So I don't really take any of the TV ratings literally.

[awesomeshotdude]

The only real accurate measures of viewership are DVD and internet sales, in addition to rentals. So I don't really take any of the TV ratings literally.


Even the purchase of DVD's and rental of like don't give a true indication as to the quality of the shows. A lot of people buy the DVD's (or rent them) either before having seen the show on TV or, for a variety of reasons, because they've decided to wait until the DVD's were available for purchase or rental. Once you've made the purchase or rental, it's too late to log your disapproval through not purchasing or renting. A measure of how much poeple are generally *interested* in the show can be gained but not how good it actually is.

I've just received and watched my copy of Razor which I payed expidited postage for to Australia....I was very disappointed with the show and it's very poorly slapped together and hollow story but my purchase has been logged as a positive rating by those that collect such data......

[Joe Beaudoin Jr.]

Even the purchase of DVD's and rental of like don't give a true indication as to the quality of the shows. A lot of people buy the DVD's (or rent them) either before having seen the show on TV or, for a variety of reasons, because they've decided to wait until the DVD's were available for purchase or rental. Once you've made the purchase or rental, it's too late to log your disapproval through not purchasing or renting.

Well, that's the flaw of any system: it logs interest in the show, not how good it is, at least in the short term. However, if people consistently buy or rent the DVD releases of BSG as they are released, then isn't that an indication of how good a show is?

Also, if a DVD release sucks, sales tend to drop off within the first week or two (drastically). That's because word gets around. As a former retail employee who dealt with media (DVDs, CDs, etc, you can pretty much tell the bad from the good merely from how long product sits on a shelf, at least from a local perspective anyway.

[ThPrime]

The Nielsen Company Issues Top Ten U.S. Lists for 2007 (http://sev.prnewswire.com/entertainment/20071211/NYTU10111122007-1.html)

Battlestar ranked #10 in Nielsen "buzz" for television programs in 2007. This statistic is formulated from keyword blogosphere posts, linkbacks, voting portals like Digg, etc. See BlogPulse (http://www.blogpulse.com/)

Considering Battlestar had a whopping three month season in all of 2007, that's an impressive amount of people talking about an off-season show. Likewise for The West Wing at #5, its last show in May '06.

Just slightly behind Lost and Heroes, interestingly (well, amazingly) the maligned and near death Bionic Woman scored the third highest differential in time shifted ratings, beating out 24, Survivor and American Idol.

[awesomeshotdude]

........... However, if people consistently buy or rent the DVD releases of BSG as they are released, then isn't that an indication of how good a show is?

No, not really.....at least not unless you have some way of determining if they have already seen the show previously and are buying the DVD to watch it again, and/or to add it to their collection because they liked it.


Also, if a DVD release sucks, sales tend to drop off within the first week or two (drastically). That's because word gets around. As a former retail employee who dealt with media (DVDs, CDs, etc, you can pretty much tell the bad from the good merely from how long product sits on a shelf, at least from a local perspective anyway.

Agreed.

[Aset]

They do have a way of measuring satisfaction on DVD rentals. Unfortunately as far as I know, Netflix is the only one who uses it. The same can be said for Amazon for DVD sales.

[Joe Beaudoin Jr.]

Right, people can leave feedback on the show/DVD/whatever via Amazon, Netflix, etc. Also other retailers are also jumping on the "feedback" bandwagon, so there is a method of rating satisfaction. There's not just any universally defined way to quantify this yet across the board.

[Aset]

Very true, I didn't really fully say what I meant, sorry I do that. WHat I am saying is there are ways popping up in places to measure these things. Unfortunately, they aren't wide spread yet. I have to say as a side note, whatever logorythm both those sites are using is earily accurate.