Cancellation Watch: Tracking the weekly ratings and the cancellation prospects of the science fiction and fantasy shows currently airing on broadcast and cable networks.
By John J. Joex
CBS’s Person of Interest has been doing well in the ratings since its return from hiatus in January and looked to be building a strong case for renewal. But this last week the show took a significant drop, sliding to a 2.8 rating in the 18-49 demographic. That’s a 15% decline from the 3.3 rating the show pulled the last few weeks. I’m going to assume that is just a blip at this point, but will monitor the its numbers closely in the coming weeks. Remember, CBS has little patience with genre shows (though this one has only the slightest hints of sci fi elements) and quickly pulls the plug on any show they consider to be under performing.
NBC did Grimm no favors by preempting it this last Friday just when it seemed to be building back up its audience. And the Thursday night repeat airing of the show drew very little interest, pulling only a 0.6 rating.
I covered The Walking Dead‘s record-breaking return as well as the woes of Alcatraz and The River in my mid-week update column last week. And most of this last week’s other shows remained pretty much status quo.
Following are the ratings results for all of the genre shows from this past week. In some cases, the numbers below are based on the preliminary returns and could change slightly when the final results are tallied.
Ratings Results for the Week of February 12th:
Once Upon A Time (ABC Sun 8 pm) Rating: 3.0 | Trend: Down | Cancellation Alert: Low
The Walking Dead (AMC Sun 9 PM) Rating: 4.2 | Trend: Up | Renewed
Alcatraz (FOX Mon 8 pm) Rating: 1.9 | Trend: Down | Cancellation Alert: Moderate
Being Human (Syfy Mon 9 PM) Rating: 0.7 | Trend: Steady | Renewed
The River (ABC Tues 9 PM) Rating: 1.7 | Trend: Down | Cancellation Alert: Moderate
Vampire Diaries (CW Thur 8 PM) Rating: 1.4 | Trend: Up | Cancellation Alert: Low
Person of Interest (CBS Thur 9 PM) Rating: 2.8 | Trend: Down | Cancellation Alert: Low
Secret Circle (CW Thur 9 PM) Rating: 0.7 | Trend: Steady | Cancellation Alert: Moderate
Nikita (CW Fri 8 PM) Rating: 0.6 | Trend: Steady | Cancellation Alert: Elevated
Supernatural (CW Fri 9 PM) Rating: 0.7 | Trend: Steady | Cancellation Alert: Moderate
Grimm (NBC Fri 9 PM) Preempted | Trend: Up | Cancellation Alert: Moderate
Fringe (FOX Fri 9 PM) Rating: 1.1 | Trend: Steady | Cancellation Alert: Elevated
Ratings Source: TV by the Numbers
