How much did Worf help the ratings?

[GulBahana]

How much did bringing on Worf help the DS9 ratings? Anyone have those numbers?

 

[Kor]

Apparently none.

This site has Nielsen ratings for DS9: http://users.telenet.be/WebTrek/Ds9/Ratings/ratings.html
"Way of the Warrior" had a rating of 8.5, but Season 4 still averaged lower than Season 3, and then Seasons 5 - 7 were lower than Season 4. So viewership declined over the course of the series in spite of (or perhaps because of ) Worf's presence.

Kor

 

[kkt]

Nielsen ratings have no honor.

 

[GulBahana]

Paramount's investment didn't pay off for them at the time. I'm sure they had to shell out the cash for Dorn. He got to buy some more planes.

 

[doylem1]

I'm not sure if he helped the ratings but the Way of the Warrior was one of DS9's best episodes

 

[Armus]

The ratings for The Emissary were ridiculously high in 1993, 2 seasons later DS9 was beginning to fall below TNG's lowest ratings. When it was announced that Worf was coming to DS9 many observers felt it was a desperate ploy for ratings. As it turned out Worf helped DS9 evolve into the show it became, but the ratings decline continued. Looking at the ratings, it appears DS9 lost at least 2 million viewers from seasons 4 to 7.

 

[ED-209]

The 90s were shit, DS9 had low ratings while crap like Big Brother was a ratings hit!

If DS9 came out now and was a 13 episode a year show it would do much better now (IMO).

 

[Armus]

I wonder how much DS9 suffered because the market became oversaturated in the mid 1990s, how much because TNG fans and the general public simply rejected it year after year, or whether DS9 actually lost DS9 fans as the show continued to evolve.

 

[arch101]

I wonder how much DS9 suffered because the market became oversaturated in the mid 1990s, how much because TNG fans and the general public simply rejected it year after year, or whether DS9 actually lost DS9 fans as the show continued to evolve.

Yeah, there was hardly ANY sci-fi on at all when TNG went on in '87. By '90, there were all kinds of shows popping up on cable and syndication.

 

[Cap'n Spots]

He might not have helped the ratings, but he helped the quality immensely.