Ratings: apparent good news

Oscar · December 10th, 2003, 03:41 AM

December 9, 2003 - Strong Ratings For BSG Premiere - SyFy Portal - While it's not clear what the overnight ratings are for the actual two-hour movie of "Battlestar Galactica," which aired its first part Monday night, Sci-Fi Channel was the top cable network last night.

According to MediaWeek, Sci-Fi Channel scored a 3.5 rating Monday night during the primetime hours, which covered the hours of 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. During that time, half of it was devoted to "Battlestar Galactica" and the other two hours was yet another repeat of the Arnold Schwarzenegger film "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" that has been aired all weekend on the cable channel.

The ratings were 21 percent better than the cable channel did a year ago. It topped TNT (2.8), Spike TV (2.8), USA (2.3) and Lifetime (1.5).

Reports are that Sci-Fi Channel told advertisers that they expected the show to maintain a 3.3 rating during its run. If that's the case, it looks clear that "Battlestar Galactica" earned well above that, possibly in the 3.9 to 4.3 range. That means around 4 million people tuned in to see the reimagination.

Sci-Fi Channel's overnight ratings were similar to that of the Fox Network, The WB and UPN -- all of which aired reruns.

It is unclear what the ratings threshold is needed for the Sci-Fi Channel to pick up "Battlestar Galactica" as a series for the Fall 2004 schedule. However, some indication from SyFy Portal sources within the cable channel indicates that barring a huge dropoff for tonight's second part, there is a good chance that the miniseries will in fact be picked up as a series.

malachi42 · December 10th, 2003, 12:28 PM

Sci Fi sold the mini to advertisers with the goal of a 3.6 rating. They got 3.8.

December 10th, 2003, 12:30 PM

http://www.boston.com/ae/tv/articles...iewers_in_bow/

Quote:

Another cable miniseries launched strong Monday, with Sci Fi Channel's "Battlestar Galactica" drawing 3.9 million viewers. While second only to Spike TV's "WWE Raw" on basic cable that night, the debut paled in comparison with the first installments of past Sci Fi miniseries, including "Steven Spielberg Presents Taken," which premiered around the same time last year, and "Frank Herbert's Dune."

jewels · December 10th, 2003, 12:42 PM

3.8 is the total for the night from 7-11pm.... what that actually means needs to be extrapolated by someone that understands Nielsens. It's under 4 million people though. Ugh spend 17-18 million to reach under 4 million viewers? How can TV survive?

dec5 · December 10th, 2003, 06:59 PM

Congrats to the BG 2003 crew....you did a stellar job!! Congrats!!

thomas7g · December 10th, 2003, 07:35 PM

The problem is the very same problem that killed the original show. Ratings vs Costs.

The show cost about $15 million to make right? And I bet it spent about equal to that advertising with commercials on alot of channels and billboards everywhere. So you are probably talking around $9 million per hour made. Granted they repeat air it like crazy. But how are you going to go to a regular series if your costs are huge and you only reach a 3.5-3.8 audience share?

Firefly was a ratings failure at a fraction of that cost and the same ratings on Fox.

dec5 · December 10th, 2003, 11:03 PM

In a full blown series..they will probably have to pair down half the cast...get someone cheaper than Olmos..and rarely show the bridge.........with a small amount of CGI....... A mini series is more prudent and it will be easier to keep the cast in tact for a few more aditional Mini series follow ups.....

Micheleh · December 10th, 2003, 11:34 PM

I haven't seen anyone do serial miniseries... has it been done? In my experience, it's a one shot thing.

jewels · December 10th, 2003, 11:47 PM

they've tried it (major network) with novels like Danielle Steele's, Tom Clancy's, Stephen King's.... but it would be a little different. BG was supposed to be that way, the TOS one: only 7 hrs total. I think it would work for GWOM actually.

dec5 · December 11th, 2003, 12:08 AM

Dune for one...

Epoch...kinda...more like a mini mini...hee he.

Roots is probably the best example though....spanning generations.....

Of course Anime has done it for decades....

thomas7g · December 11th, 2003, 01:08 AM

its funny. Its like history repeating itself.

the original series started out as a miniseries, but was given a go for a full series before it aired. And in the pilot they didn't recycle scenes. But costs were high and they had to do things to cheapen the show and recycle footage which the more ruder mini fanatics were always insulting us with. Now if they went to series, they would have to do the same things to the new version to survive.

Irony.

The 14th Colony · December 11th, 2003, 07:39 AM

There is another thing to consider. I am not using this as a means to knock the mini, but the truth is that the high ratings only assures that enough people were curious enough to tune in, not that as many people actually enjoyed it. Take Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, a movie I loved. It was huge at the box office, the highest grossing SW movie of all time, and the 2nd highest grossing movie worldwide of all time. Yet the critics blasted it to hell and a lot of die hard fans as well as casual fans hated it. But after 16 years of waiting for a new SW movie, people went in droves to see it out of curiosity and excitement. Yet Episode II, Attack of the Clones, which many fans felt was a better story and finer movie, did far, far less at the box office, because the curiosity factor had died down and so many people were turned off by their experience seeing TPM (I saw TPM over 20 times in the theatres and AOTC about 10, so I am not one of those people) that they weren't interested enough to "tune in" again. My point is, a lot of casual as well as non-BSG fans and even BSG purists who hated the mini before it aired, may have tuned into BSG2003 out of mere curiosity to see the first new BSG in 24 years, equalling the huge ratings, but that does not assure that as many of those viewers, or any of them at all, will care to watch a weekly series. Thus, the high ratings don't prove its marketability, IMHO.

Dean Martin · December 11th, 2003, 07:49 AM

i AGREE THAT a lot of the viewers may have been curiosity seekers and that rating generally drop following an event. It's difficult to tell though, how many people will be curious enough t tune in for a series.
And of course I don't think iterest has peakd either. If the show was picked up and there was enough interest it could gain grond as it got better and tim went on just like Star Trek TNG.
Your exmple of Star Wars is good but not as close because although the second movie did less at the Box office it still made gobs of money.
A better example would be The Matrix. I think the fans wanted to see more of what was in the first film. When they got something different in Reloaded they stayed away fro 3 in droves.

The 14th Colony · December 11th, 2003, 07:55 AM

I think I can agree with that. I was so turned off by Reloaded that I have yet to see Revolutions. A far different example (and this is off topic, sorry mods) would be Lord of the Rings. I have not read the books but I love the saga. I didn't enjoy Two Towers as much as I enjoyed Fellowship, but I am far more excited and eager to see Return of the King and will be on line for that on the first day if not the first week.

Dean Martin · December 11th, 2003, 07:58 AM

Oh, it's funny you mentioned Lord of theRings, I wanted to finish my Star Wars thought. I think the third LOTR and SW movies will be the biggest because people are anxious to see those concluded.

The 14th Colony · December 11th, 2003, 08:03 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Dean Martin
Oh, it's funny you mentioned Lord of theRings, I wanted to finish my Star Wars thought. I think the third LOTR and SW movies will be the biggest because people are anxious to see those concluded.

I agree. I am dying to find out if Anakin and Padme have any kids, and whether the Jedi win at the end. The suspense is killing me!

malachi42 · December 11th, 2003, 08:40 AM

A series would have to be less costly than the mini series was. Much less
CGI and a lot more focus on the characters, which I understand was one of the things everyone enjoyed about TOS. (if I have understood correctly) It would be about the struggles and challenges that this rag tag group of refugees faces. They would never get rid of the actors that we have already seen.

dec5 · December 11th, 2003, 12:37 PM

And it has made 400 million so far worldwide. Pretty good.

thomas7g · December 11th, 2003, 04:15 PM

They would have to repeat footage. Reduce the number of new effect shots. Bring down the cost per episode. BAsically do alot of the same things that people criticized about the original series.

malachi42 · December 14th, 2003, 03:53 PM

I want BSG to stay on as a miniseries. I'm not really into Sci-Fi but it made me want to watch the rest of it and really wanna see how the endings go. I think Ron(the writer) did a good job. The new BSG is very exciting and exhilerating(is that how you spell it?)and it kept me on the edge of my seat. Everytime the commercials came I was very upset and I could hardly wait till BSG started again. BSG made me kind of notice Sci-Fi and how cool it is in it's own way...hehe. Anyways I hope BSG stays on as a miniseries because of it's adventure and how it shows how brave people can be and that they will pass the line to survive and stay a community. It really shows you that you should never give up.

callsignfalcon · December 14th, 2003, 04:14 PM

A conclusion is all I really want... whether it be through another mini or a series... damn sci-fi left me in suspense!

Anyway... perhaps the ratings for tonight will tell whether its worthy? I

December 14th, 2003, 04:29 PM

People tuning in out of curiousity is a very good point.

I'll be blunt: with the cancellation of Firefly, there is now no good scifi shows on TV worth watching.

Star Trek: Enterprise has fallen short of expectations, touching on greatness with some episodes then abandoning those same storylines for crap.

Andromeda has gotten so confusing I don't think the writers even know what is going on.

SG:1 - while having a fan base - has never really thrilled me as anything exciting. Any show that you can't enjoy one episode without knowing the full backstory doesn't deserve the title "great".

So much SciFi nowadays relies on the hook of the week: the new alien, the new planet, the new ship, the new tech, blah blah blah. What ever happened to stories? Characters? Characters that are written and portrayed as real people, with good and bad points. BSG could easily fill that gap.

There was a time when entertainers held the maxim: "Always leave 'em wanting more." Nowadays, most SciFi shows give the viewers what they want immediately... then paint themselves in a corner when they realise they can't keep topping themselves. I don't know if audiences would be ready for an actual well written story.

callsignfalcon · December 14th, 2003, 04:50 PM

Stargate is quite character Driven... Buy the DVD's and see or watch reruns on sci-fi. What Sg1 does have the 'planet of the week' it also has the strong-ever-growing characters which is what kept me hooked(along with the comedic wit of O'Niell) to watching since i first saw an eppy.

I aggree about the andromeda and enterprise points tho.... I remember last fall tuning in to about 6 shows (probably more) a week... now its down to 2 (stargate and angel(only cause of Spike)).

I guess we'll see how many more curious ppl decided to tune in.... or if they all stay away tonight.

December 16th, 2003, 02:41 PM

My subject sums it up..i have my doubts about those who say they knew how that show was being sold to advertisers. Looks just like speculation to me. Thanks.

malachi42 · December 16th, 2003, 03:04 PM

The earlier post is by my daughter and her friend.
They have been banned from posting under my name.

malachi42 · December 16th, 2003, 03:06 PM

Allthough it's not a bad post...

jonahlee · December 17th, 2003, 12:56 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by HollyKnight55
I'll be blunt: with the cancellation of Firefly, there is now no good scifi shows on TV worth watching.

Star Trek: Enterprise has fallen short of expectations, touching on greatness with some episodes then abandoning those same storylines for crap.

I don't disagree. We need another Sci-Fi show, though I would really like FIREFLY to come back, which looks doubtful, though I will be happy to see the Movie!

BSG as a series may not be what I was looking for exactly, but it does have potential.