Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D

[S. Griffin]

This dropped a pretty significant chunk in ratings last night compared to last week. Is it the supposed Whedon Curse? Or is it just that American television viewers are so quick to move on if they don't love something immediately? [probably that one]. I didn't adore last week's episode, but I saw the show's potential and it made me want to see where it could and would go; It didn't scare me the **** away. I'm a little concerned that as fun as last night's episode was, there will be even more drop off, which there inevitably is for a new series' first few episodes, but it's a very expensive show, and without 18-49 ratings consistently in the range of 3.0 and above, ABC may feel they need to pull the plug.

[Caleb]

Do those ratings account for DVR? Because I was in front of the TV for the premiere - good timing, I think - but couldn't make it last night. I still DVR the show and intend to watch at least the first season.

I'd assume that the ratings drop is normal premiere frontloading. Seems like it happens to a lot of series. At least the numbers stayed consistent throughout the whole hour - it's not like Terra Nova, where the second half of the show had a steep decline in viewers. If Shield wasn't so expensive, the numbers would probably seem a little more respectable, I think. But for a show that costs what this one does per episode - and it's very, very obviously an expensive show - the numbers probably don't need another steep drop-off.

Maybe if they tell America it's a reality show / singing competition, people will tune in?

[O.G.Trilogy]

Maybe if they tell America it's a reality show / singing competition, people will tune in?

Next week the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. cook meth in the desert, grow long beards, kill zombies and exploit thier children for fame and fortune.

[S. Griffin]

Do those ratings account for DVR? Because I was in front of the TV for the premiere - good timing, I think - but couldn't make it last night. I still DVR the show and intend to watch at least the first season.

They do and they don't count DVR. Nielsen reports live, live + same day DVR, and live + seven day DVR ratings to the networks. The networks apparently count live and live + same day DVR as basically the same and don't actually care how many people watch a show on DVR within seven days of it's original broadcast. Basically if a show is recorded but not watched until the next day, the network doesn't count it.

[Crazy Jetty]

Maybe if they tell America it's a reality show / singing competition, people will tune in?

Next week the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. cook meth in the desert, grow long beards, kill zombies and exploit thier children for fame and fortune.

Win.

[Caleb]

Do those ratings account for DVR? Because I was in front of the TV for the premiere - good timing, I think - but couldn't make it last night. I still DVR the show and intend to watch at least the first season.

They do and they don't count DVR. Nielsen reports live, live + same day DVR, and live + seven day DVR ratings to the networks. The networks apparently count live and live + same day DVR as basically the same and don't actually care how many people watch a show on DVR within seven days of it's original broadcast. Basically if a show is recorded but not watched until the next day, the network doesn't count it.

Hey, I learned something today! Seems kind of weird that they can't wait a week for their ratings, but I guess it really shouldn't surprise me all that much with the way Hollywood is about opening weekend grosses versus overall grosses. Really, if 3 million viewers DVR something, and half of them don't watch it until the weekend, though? Seems like those numbers could help out in the long-run.

Of course, in the age of Facebook Spoilers, why anyone waits that long is beyond me.

[Caleb]

Maybe if they tell America it's a reality show / singing competition, people will tune in?

Next week the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. cook meth in the desert, grow long beards, kill zombies and exploit thier children for fame and fortune.

And the following week, the team members must choose: Team Adam or Team Cee-Lo! And the week after, they crash a wedding and Skye gets beheaded while David Bradley cackles about it!

C'mon ABC, get with the program!

[Crazy Jetty]

I think DVR is mostly tossed out since most people skip the commercials, and that's honestly all the networks care about when it comes to ratings.

[AcidDragon]

At least Lexus and Audi get their monies worth with all the vehicle plugs they got in there.

[Crazy Jetty]

Yeah, it hasn't gotten as bad as on Syfi, where they stop the show and have the characters demonstraight the car's features.