10/31/11

TV Ratings

• One of the most

successful series in TV

history is Law and

Order. It ran for 20

years, from 1990–

2010, and continues an

extremely successful

syndication run.

TV Ratings

This chart shows the number of viewers throughout its 20-year history.

Source for all data: http://www.classictvhits.com/tvratings/

TV Ratings

After five years, Law and Order began syndicating its programs on A&E

and later on TNT. Two very lucrative syndication deals.

TV Ratings

The success of Law and Order created two successful spinoffs, Law and

Order: Special Victims Unit and Law and Order: Criminal Intent.

TV Ratings

• The success of a

series like Law and

Order is very hard to

achieve. The first step

in this trek is to have a

series that runs at least

five years.

• Let’s look at a series in

its second year that

may make it to

syndication.

TV Ratings

• Hawaii Five-0, a

remake of a series that

originally aired from

1969–1980, is in its

second season.

Source for all data: http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/

TV Ratings

This chart shows the number of viewers for its first season and the current

season. (The first season number is an average for the whole season.)

TV Ratings

As an indication of how things have changed since Law and Order, there is

already a syndication deal for Hawaii Five-0!

TV Ratings

• Hawaii Five-0’s strategy

for success — reviving a

previously successful

series— does not

guarantee success.

• Let’s look at a series that

tried this same strategy

with opposite results.

TV Ratings

• Charlie’s Angels, a

remake of a series that

originally aired from

1976–1981, didn’t

make it past five

episodes. Let’s see

why.

TV Ratings

While its season premier on 9/22 had a good start, the succeeding weeks

saw a steep dropoff in vewers.

TV Ratings

Two consecutive weeks of drops in viewers of over 15%, then settling into

low viewership, is a formula for cancellation.

TV Ratings

• A lot of factor determine

whether a TV show will

succeed and eventually

be syndicated. But a

sizable drop in viewers

from one week to

another, or one season

to another, will almost

always guarantee

cancellation.