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ABC lied about LOST's 20 million viewers

Bad Bishop

Bad Bishop

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I couldn't help noticing ABC's promos for LOST, crowing that 20 million people tuned in for the season premiere. 20 million would be quite a figure for a 5th season premiere. Is it true? A quick search proved otherwise:

ABC's 'Lost' returns to record-low premiere ratings

Jan 22, 2009

Months of hype and speculation couldn't prevent ABC's "Lost" from returning to its lowest season-premiere numbers ever.

Following last year's strike-shortened cycle, the two-hour Season 5 launch of the island thriller delivered an average of 11.4 million total viewers, according to data from Nielsen Media Research. In adults ages 18 to 49, "Lost" averaged a 5.0 rating, its worst season opener ever and down a big 26% compared with last year. In maybe the most troubling sign for ABC, the premiere lost viewers every half-hour it was on.
Click to expand...

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2009/01/in-season-5-los.html

So how did ABC come up with 20 million? Perhaps they used some questionable arithmetic. Maybe they came up with 20 million by adding the totals of the three hours of Jan 21.

Suppose...

X would be the total audience for the 8 PM special.
Y would be the total audience for the 9 PM hour.
Z would be the total audience for the 10 PM hour.

X + Y + Z = 20 million

Is this how ABC computed 20 million? By counting the same people three times? Those rascals!
 
How many viewers did it lose between the first and second episodes ?

Both episodes were mediocre at best, especially considering Lost typically has a strong opener to every season.
 
The season premiere was replayed on Saturday night in my area. Perhaps folks tuned in for that as well?
 
I would guess they either added orig airing plus Sat night rerun, or they added the clip show's ratings to the premiere's ratings. Either way, dirty pool.
 
DeafPoet said:
Does it factor in DVR and internet stuff? Perhaps therein lies the rub.
Click to expand...

I think "the rub" also includes the huge dead gap from the end of the fourth season to the start of the fifth.

Unlike ye olden days, when most shows aired 24 or so episodes spread out over many months with a summer break and a return in September, the shorter Lost seasons that start in January and air without repeats results in a huge off-season.

People can't keep track of a complicated show like Lost, particularly when they are asked to wait about 9 months between seasons.

Thankfully, even low ratings won't get Lost cancelled.
 
roliver said:
DeafPoet said:
Does it factor in DVR and internet stuff? Perhaps therein lies the rub.
Click to expand...

I think "the rub" also includes the huge dead gap from the end of the fourth season to the start of the fifth.

Unlike ye olden days, when most shows aired 24 or so episodes spread out over many months with a summer break and a return in September, the shorter Lost seasons that start in January and air without repeats results in a huge off-season.

People can't keep track of a complicated show like Lost, particularly when they are asked to wait about 9 months between seasons.

Thankfully, even low ratings won't get Lost cancelled.
Click to expand...

All true. My statement was more taking into account how ABC almost doubled the viewership numbers in their 20 Million claim, though.

You're right about the reasons for declining viewership, I think. Also that I don't give a shit because it's ending no matter what on its own terms.

I just wonder what sources they were compiling their numbers from though. For instance, I read over at DarkUFO that there were 2 Million downloads for the premiere on BitTorrent. Probably not something ABC is bragging about, but I think it lends some legitimacy to their claim. More than the stated 11 Million pairs of eyeballs saw Lost last week.
 
Networks do this all the time.

For example, if episode one and two of a series each got 25 million viewers the promo would say "50 MILLION VIEWERS....."
 
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