Ratings are in !

[Peacemaker]

Of course, this was Thanksgiving Weekend, a major travel time for many, not to mention the fact that some folks still had relatives around who may not have wished to watch it. Add the extended shopping hours as well. That has to take away ratings too. Then factor in the known fact that it would be out on DVD and the fact that it had already been in theaters in some major cities. Some folks may simply have chosen not to see it again; to buy the DVD, to buy the DVD having already seen it n the big screen.

[Harvey]

Considering they aired it on the dumping ground of Thanksgiving weekend, the declining value of the Nielsens, and the fact that they heavily publicized the longer DVD version being released just a week after the initial airing, these ratings aren't nearly as low as they should have been.

[Chuckles]

Those ratings are gritty and realistic.

[David cgc]

Hirogen Alpha said:
Considering they aired it on the dumping ground of Thanksgiving weekend, the declining value of the Nielsens, and the fact that they heavily publicized the longer DVD version being released just a week after the initial airing, these ratings aren't nearly as low as they should have been.

I agree wholeheartedly. Either BSG has 1.2 million of the most loyal, well-informed fans ever, a lot of people were channel-surfing to escape their families and thought lesbians in space was a good way to kill an hour, or word of mouth and DVD loaning is actually having an effect and boosting interest and viewership.

[ATimson]

Year of Hell said:
Ignore the ratings. Neilsons are obsolete in this day and age, although it's sad that the networks still look to it as their holy grail.

Blame the advertisers, who use them as the basis of payment, not the networks.

[CaptJimboJones]

Honestly, the Neilsons are so outdated and archaic, based on 1950s viewing/broadcasting patterns, that they're utterly meaningless today. The fact that the networks still use them is just another sign of the sheer ineptitude of the suits that run television networks today.

[ATimson]

CaptJimboJones said:
Honestly, the Neilsons are so outdated and archaic, based on 1950s viewing/broadcasting patterns, that they're utterly meaningless today. The fact that the networks still use them is just another sign of the sheer ineptitude of the suits that run television networks today.

What else would you suggest they use? You can't count people who don't view it live, because they aren't going to watch the ads, so the advertisers won't pay for them. Total bodies doesn't matter, just the bodies watching the ads.

[mattwitz]

My feeling is, the sci-fi channel is probably ecstatic with Battlestar, no matter what the ratings are. The show has brought a lot of credibility to a network thats only real claim to fame beforehand was stargate. The LA times review of "razor" was on the front page of the Calendar/Arts section. It's gotten a huge amount of PR for the network and won multiple awards. Plus, unlike its NBC counterpart, SCiFi probably doesn't freak out about low ratings, partly because they are on cable.

[Peacemaker]

Honestly, at this point, I'm not at all concerned about the ratings. Skiffy has 13 episodes in the bag now. If the WGA strike is resolved, it will hopefully get the other 9, and we'll have a conclusion to the story. I'm more concerned we may not get our last 9 than how Razor performed in the ratings. I'd be more concerned if there was a possibility that BSG S4 would go unaired.

[Temis the Vorta]

A Saturday night on Thanksgiving weekend was never going to get great ratings. Skiffy already figured that only the loyal fanbase would watch. They weren't even trying. Too bad so many people missed a great performance by Michelle Forbes.

[Russ]

Temis the Vorta said:
A Saturday night on Thanksgiving weekend was never going to get great ratings. Skiffy already figured that only the loyal fanbase would watch. They weren't even trying. Too bad so many people missed a great performance by Michelle Forbes.

But that argument really doesn't hold true, in the sense that the film they aired last year did better and had the same problem (attracting an audience during Thanksgiving weekend).

This is SCI FI's flagship program. It SHOULD be doing better, and it was heavily promoted. Don't forget that the advertising campaign included the webisodes.

Though the producers/writers have stated the purpose of the film was to flesh out background stories, and that may certainly be true, the sole reason SCI FI greenlit it was because they felt the project could attract more viewers to the network, not necessarily to the series. And in that respect, they failed.

Razor was off by 14% year-to-year (last year's Saturday film on the comparable day drew a 1.4).

[kipron]

^
It's a good thing the ratings don't matter then.

[Mr J]

kipron said:
^
It's a good thing the ratings don't matter then.

That was true prior the writers strike, as a full final season of BSG was assured. Now though, ratings will most certainly have a bearing in whether or not they bother to pick up production on the last half of the year once the strike is over. The ratings matter, end of story. It doesn't matter how 'outdated' fans bleat the system is.

[nx1701g]

^ Exactly. If you want to see Season 4.5 ratings will have to go up more than likely. Didn't Moore say in an interview that Sci-Fi hasn't confirmed if they'll produce season 4.5 because of the strike?

[Warp Coil]

"Razor" aired on a Saturday night - the worst night to premiere anything on television. Having it air Thanksgiving weekend makes it even worse. People are traveling, shopping or doing whatever people usually do on Saturday nights (cuz all indications are that no one watches much TV on Saturdays). The networks don't even offer new programming - they all air reruns.

Factor in the extended DVD coming out in less than a week, the internet leak way in advance, and the fact that I saw practically no promos for this outside the Sci-Fi Channel... is anyone really surprised?

At the end of the day, it doesn't matter. BSG is already ending after season 4, so it's not like we have to worry about the show being cancelled.