Fringe Ratings: How to Overcome Nielsen Invisibility

Everyone knows that TV shows live or die by their Nielsen ratings. A month into the season, several shows have already been axed due to their lack of performance in the ratings system, and several more are in imminent danger. Many argue that the system is antiquated, and that in this fast paced digital age people are consuming their entertainment differently. No one I know has ever been, or ever met a member of a Nielsen family.

Genre shows like Fringe exist constantly on the bubble, faithful fans watching and worrying every week over those frustratingly ephemeral numbers. It’s nerve wracking, tiresome and not a little bit insulting to feel that our loyalty counts for nothing because we lack a little black box. But things are starting to change: slowly, reluctantly, the ‘statistical sampling’ system that’s served as TV’s judge, jury and executioner for over half a century is at last being mitigated with new ways of collecting data. Networks are acknowledging that DVR and online statistics carry increasing weight in their decision making processes, scrambling to figure out how to account for the shifting landscape of television viewing to the advertisers whose money really drives the business.

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Fringe: The Shape Of Things To Come

Fringe executive producers Jeff Pinkner and Joel Wyman talk about the new and improved Shapeshifter 2.0.

Fringe Schedule Update: Only Three More Episodes This Year

The mysterious @MaskedScheduled has confirmed that we will only get three more episodes of Fringe this year (instead of four), due to the preemption by the World Series.

The remaining Fringe schedule for 2011 will be:

11/04 - "Novation" (#405)
11/11 - "And Those We Left Behind" (#406)
11/18 - "Wallflower" (#407) - Fall Season Finale

Fringe will resume with new episodes on January 13th.

Yes, it's very unfortunate, but chalk it up to bad luck. If there hadn't been rain-out on Game 6, of if the Texas Rangers would have won game 6, everything would have continued as normal.

Before the wave of complaints start rolling in, lets be perfectly clear. I am as big of a Fringe fan as anyone, but if I were Fox, I would have done the same thing. Well... maybe I wouldn't have shown a rerun on 10/21, but hindsight is 20/20.

Here's the facts: Although some of you may not enjoy baseball, most people watched the World Series. In fact, Game 7 was the highest rated show on any network this season, pulling in 25.4 million viewers. Compare that to Fringe ratings, which have been averaging about 3 million per episode. Also, consider that the price of a 30-second commercial during the World Series is almost 8 times more than during Fringe ($450,000 vs $57,589). 

Feel free to complain in the comments, but can anyone argue with those numbers?

Now about that almost two month break - breaks happen. There are 35 weeks in a normal television season, and Fringe has a standard season order of 22 episodes. That means there are always going to be 13 weeks of either repeats or breaks. Fringe has always had a winter break, and will actually be coming back a week earlier than I expected.

We will have lots of fun stuff going on during the rest of the season and during the break, so check back often. And don't forget to enter our "Watch Fringe Live And Win!" contest every week!

Beyond The Fringe Comic #2: Chapter B

DC Comics has released the fourth comic in the "Beyond The Fringe" direct-to-digital series.

Beyond The Fringe #2: Chapter B was written by Christine Lavaf, is available now for $0.99 via Comixology.com.

Here is the official description:

Imagine If... Astrid Was A Spy?

Visit another reality where Fringe agent Astrid Farnsworth is not only Walter Bishop's research assistant, but also an undercover spy in the service of someone very familiar ... and surprising!

Order "Beyond The Fringe" here

Fringe:Discuss Why and How Do Olivia and Nina Know Each Other?

It's Wednesday, and time for another installment of our feature, Fringe:Discuss,
where we post a question and ask for your comments and opinions.

It's been 3 long weeks since episode 404, titled, "Subject 9" aired.
In it the following conversation took place between our Olivia Dunham and Nina Sharp:

NINA: So you told me about the Fringe Event, but I think you left something out. It's happening to you, isn't it? (motherly) Now, come on. I haven't seen this much fear in your face since Bobby Hastings asked you to the prom. So what can I do to help you, dear?

OLIVIA: (delighted with her docent) You've done it. Walter thinks he knows how to deal with it. We just need to find the file.


As you can read above, Olivia and Nina have a history in this timeline that they did not have in the one from the first three seasons.

Q:In the newly-established timeline, Olivia and Nina are closer than they were in the previous one.
    Why and how do Olivia Dunham and Nina Sharp know each other? Any theories?


Please post your comments below, and remember, do NOT post spoilers here.
If you wish to discuss spoilers, click on the "Fringe Spoilers" tab at the top of the page and post your spoiler comments there.

I look forward to reading everyone's theories on this interesting turn of events.

Who Is TV's Sexiest Female Sidekick?

TV Fanatics decided on television's Sexiest Male Sidekick last week, and the results weren't even close. Now, it's time for the ladies to represent!

Thanks to nominations submitted by loyal readers, the gorgeous field is set, as the following 10 women hope to earn your votes through their looks, lines and actions. From blowing up baddies to brewing up mayhem, which of these blistering beauties are almost too hot to handle?
 Decide now!

Kono Kalakaua (Grace Park) - Hawaii Five-0
Britta Perry (Gillian Jacobs) - Community
Angela Montenegro (Michaela Conlin) - Bones
Donna (Sarah Rafferty) - Suits
Fiona Glenanne (Gabrielle Anwar) - Burn Notice
Pam De Beaufort (Kristin Bauer) - True Blood
Caroline Forbes (Candice Accola) - The Vampire Diaries
 Astrid Farnsworth (Jasika Nicole) - Fringe
Sarah Walker (Yvonne Strahovski) - Chuck
Bonnie Bennett (Katerina Graham) - The Vampire Diaries


See the TV Fanatic article and vote for Astrid here! Currently, she's in the lead!

Fringe Noble Intentions: Subject 9

John Noble discusses the psych evaluation letter Walter finds in Olivia's jacket, in this latest episode of Noble Intentions, for the Fringe episode "Subject 9".

Fringe: Baseball Happened

Here is a tongue-in-check promo announcing the one-week postponement of Fringe due to the World Series game 7.

Fringe will return on November 4th with the episode "Novation"!
There is a new clip from "Novation" in this video, so you may not want to watch if you are avoiding spoilers.

What did you do Friday night with no Fringe?

Game 7 of World Series to Preempt 'Novation' on Friday

With the St. Louis Cardinals taking out Game 6 of the World Series tonight, there will be NO Fringe tomorrow on Fox.

'Novation' will now be screened next week, where we can all Witness The Return!.

Fringe: Here Is Peter Bishop (Producer Interviews)

Here is the latest in the Where Is Peter Bishop? video series, featuring interviews with fringe executive producers Jeff Pinkner and Joel Wyman.

There's a few new clips in this video, so you may not want to watch if you are avoiding spoilers. One more day (hopefully)!

World Series Could Preeemt Fringe This Friday

Yesterday's Game 6 of the World Series was officially postponed due to rain, and will be played tonight. This means that if the Saint Louis Cardinals win tonight, game 7 would be on Friday, which would preempt the return of Fringe this week.

What will happen if Fringe gets preempeted? According to the @MaskedScheduler, this week's episode will air next week. Unfortunately, that could push the Fringe "Fall Finale" out of November Sweeps.

Historically speaking, there is only about a 35% chance of the World Series going to seven games, but the Cardinals are playing at home so it could go either way. It might not be a bad idea to start rooting for the Texas Rangers (or for rain on Friday!)

The good news about the World Series airing on Friday would be that it could be a huge blow to the season premiere of NBC's Grimm (i.e. the competition). The World Series has been pulling in over 14 million viewers vs. the usual 3 million for Fringe.

Entertainment Weekly Explains 'Fringe's DVR Gain

Oct 17, 2011 06:48 PM ET
 DVR boosts 'New Girl' ratings to tie '2 Broke Girls'
by James Hibberd

 Zooey Deschanel has caught up to those CBS waitresses.

With the second week of DVR data in, Fox’s New Girl has managed to tie CBS’ 2 Broke Girls season-to-date as the two highest-rated new comedies. One might say this is a bit more impressive for New Girl since it builds from Glee lead-in whereas Broke Girls had that big boost from Two and a Half Men for its debut. Or you could argue that New Girl has the advantage because Broke has aired four episodes (and ratings for new shows tend to dip a little each week) and New Girl has only aired three (since Fox has sent Deschanel away until November … perhaps in search of her show’s missing The). Either way, both are now tied with a 5.5 adult demo average.

 Here’s who else really benefited from DVR playback (unlike above, this is just for the second week): ABC’s Modern Family had the biggest raw gain during the second week of the season, its overnight rating leaping from a 5.7 to a 7.9 … that’s like Modern Family taking some modestly performing other show and eating it. ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy (3.6 to 5.1) and Two and a Half Men (7.4 to 8.9) also posted steep gains.

 If you look at which shows had biggest gains on a percentage basis — in other words, which enjoyed the biggest increase compared to their debuts rather which ones had the largest raw increase — Fox’s Fringe is at the top of the list. Literally a minority of the show’s viewers actually watch this show the first night it airs (Fridays) — the second week got a 67 percent bump, from a 1.2 to a 2.0.

 Read the entire Entertainment Weekly article here.

Fringe: Here Is Peter Bishop (Interviews)

Here is the latest in the Where Is Peter Bishop? video series, featuring interviews with Lance Reddick, Joshua Jackson, Anna Torv, John Noble, and Jasika Nicole.

There's a few new clips in this video, so you may not want to watch if you are avoiding spoilers. Three more days!

Second FOX Promo Vid for Episode 405, "Novation"

This is the second promo video for episode 405, titled "Novation," that will air this Friday, October 28. Please watch it live!

Fringe Repeat: "Neither Here Nor There"

Tonight's episode of Fringe is a repeat of the Fringe season 4 premier episode "Neither Here Nor There".

As we mentioned previously, after this week's baseball/sweeps break, we will have four new Fringe episodes, with the Fringe "Fall Season Finale" on November 18th.

There will not be a "Watch Fringe Live And Win" contest tonight, but the FringeTelevision chat room will be open if you would like to chat about tonight's episode.

You can also continue the discussion on "Neither Here Nor There" in the Fringe episode post.

Fringe Friday Flashback: Science Of Fringe

If you haven't been following Fringe online since the very beginning, there may be a few interesting Fringe stories that you may have missed. Every week on Fringe Friday Flashback, we will look back and some interesting posts from the past that might be worth a second look.



Back in August 2008, even before the first Fringe episode aired, the Fox promotional machine was running at full throttle. "Science Of Fringe" was a short series of videos that explained various fields of Fringe science: Neuroimaging, Telekinesis, Paranormal, and Nanotechnology.

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Networks Rethink the Ratings Game As DVR Usage Spreads

Networks Rethink the Ratings Game As DVR Usage Spreads
 Oct 20, 2011 09:23 AM ET
 by Michael Schneider

What a difference seven days makes. Many primetime shows are seeing their ratings skyrocket when a week's worth of DVR usage is included — and network execs are scrambling to figure out how to adjust to a time-shifting world.

Now that DVR penetration has reached around 42% of viewers, it's having a real impact on viewership — and making the initial next-day ratings that everyone reports (which includes live viewing, plus only that night's DVR usage) increasingly irrelevant.

For example, when season four of FX's Sons of Anarchy debuted September 6, it attracted 4.9 million viewers, a good number, but not a network record. By the time seven days of DVR usage was counted, that number had climbed to 6.5 million viewers — making it the most-watched program in FX history.

 "The numbers are so far apart that it's not even funny," says FX president John Landgraf.

The fact that nearly half of all TV viewers now own a DVR is making some of TV's top-rated shows even more top-rated when all is said and done. ABC's Modern Family leads the DVR pack, enjoying massive audience boosts once the final time-shifted ratings are in. Thanks to DVRs, the comedy's second episode, which initially aired September 28, eventually added a staggering 4.5 million more viewers to its total.

Where the live-plus-seven ratings have the most impact so far is making a mess of network bragging rights. In the adults 18-49 demographic, NBC's Sunday Night Football was originally the No. 1 show for the week ending October 2, posting a 7.7 rating. But once the DVR numbers came in, Sunday Night Football was virtually unchanged (up 1 percent to 7.8), while CBS' Two and a Half Men (8.9, up 20 percent from 7.4) and ABC's Modern Family (7.9, up 39 percent from 5.7) leapt in front.

 In another example, CBS' Two Broke Girls was the top-rated new sitcom among adults 18-49 prior to the latest DVR data — but now that more extensive live-plus-seven numbers have come in, Fox's New Girl was the bigger beneficiary. As a result, both shows are tied for first.

 "Part of the problem is when you report live-plus-same-day and single airing ratings, you convey the impression that the scale of a show is 'x' when in reality the scale of that show is 'y,'" Landgraf says.

 Meanwhile, the DVR revolution is also giving hope to lower-rated shows, as their so-so numbers wind up looking a lot better once time-shifting is included. ABC's Grey's Anatomy averaged a rather disappointing 3.6 rating among adults 18-49 in week two of the fall TV season. But the show got a hefty 41.7% boost thanks to seven days of DVR usage, bringing its final rating up to a much stronger 5.1.

Read the entire tvguide.com article here.

10 Bubble Shows-Which Will Survive?

Today's News: Our Take 10 Bubble Shows — Which Will Survive?
 Oct 19, 2011 10:01 PM ET
 by Adam Bryant and Denise Martin


  We're mere weeks into the new TV season, and already the freshman class has provided some bona fide hits (hello, girls both New and 2 Broke!) But while some shows started strong, several others faltered out of the gate (RIP, The Playboy Club, Free Agents, How to Be a Gentleman and Charlie's Angels!) Which shows will be next? These 11 are in the most danger, due to low ratings, poor performances among younger viewers and other typical bad signs. Is your favorite show on the list?

 4. Fringe (Fox) Fridays at 9/8c The Good News: Well...on Fridays, the bar is still very low! In its most recent outing, Fringe delivered a 1.2 rating/4 share in the demo, which isn't that far from Friday-night leader CSI: NY (1.7/5). And Fox President of Entertainment Kevin Reilly is a fan. "It was one of the great victories for us last season," Reilly said in August. "We were cheering the Friday night victory for Fringe... I don't expect explosive growth [this fall]..." The Bad News: Hmm, what's the opposite of explosive growth? Because that's what seems instead to have happened to Fringe. Viewership has dropped significantly between the Season 3 finale (5.83 million) — which ended on a mind-boggling, Peter-"killing" cliffhanger! -- and the most recent Season 4 numbers (3.16 million). Was the latest twist too much for even Fringe's most die-hard fans?

 Read the entire tvguide.com article here.

Fringe: Witness The Return (Of Peter!)

Here is the Ari Margolis produced trailer for the next Fringe episode "Novation", which airs NEXT Friday, October 28 at 9:00PM on FOX.

Check out FringeFiles.com for screenshots of this video - there are lots of interesting things at the end!

Beyond The Fringe Comic #2: Chapter A

DC Comics has released the third chapter in the "Beyond The Fringe" direct-to-digital comic series.

Beyond The Fringe #2: Chapter A was written by Joshua Jackson, is available now for $0.99 via Comixology.com.

Here is the official description:

Peter And The Machine: Chapter 2

Peter's desperate time-traveling adventure continues! From the lythical land of Hy-Brasil, to the rolling hills of Mohawk Valley, and on to Tibet - Peter moves through space and time in search of the machine's pieces in his heroic attempt to save the world.

Order "Beyond The Fringe" here