Ratings: Fringe Pops Up from Demo Low

Ratings: Fringe Pops Up from Demo Low
by Matt Webb Mitovich

Now this is interesting: Fox’s Fringe this Friday drew 3.11 million total viewers while scoring a 1.2 demo rating — that marks week-to-week gains of 8 and 33 percent, up from the all-time demo low the show has been nursing for too long.

View Matt's TVLine.com post here.

TV Line Upgrades Fringe Season 5 to "Safe Bet"

TV Line has upgraded Fringe in its "2012 Renewal Scorecard" from "Could go either way" to "A safe bet".

While no explanation was given, this comes right off the news that "Terra Nova" has been officially  canceled.

Along with "House" ending this season, this will free up spots in the very limited 10-hours of FOX prime time schedule.

And there might even be more spots opening up soon, as both "Alcatraz" and "The Finder" have been doing poorly in the ratings.

While not a bad a sign as The Firm moving to Saturdays, the "The Finder" moving to Fridays is probably not good news for that show. Even though Fringe has been surviving on Friday nights, it was not in its rookie season when it made the move.

However, the move could help Fringe, by giving it a better lead-in than Kitchen Nightmares, which other than Walter liking to eat a lot, doesn't have much in common with Fringe. But then again, it may make little different, since Fringe has "FRINGE has the biggest percentage gain from time-shifted viewing of any series this season".

What do you think will happen?

Low-Rated ‘Fringe’ Mostly Time-Shifted Among Fans

Low-Rated ‘Fringe’ Mostly Time-Shifted Among Fans
Posted by: Editor in Entertainment
February 29th, 2012 1:23PM

Remember awhile back? When we took a look at a couple shows that continue to have life after their TV cancellations? (Stargate and Buffy) Well, this week we decided to take a look at a show that, while still on the air, also counts itself among the oft-marginalized sci-fi genre, but is still getting lots of love from the Twitter, GetGlue, and TiVo communities. We’re talking, of course, (and on Leap Day, of course) about Fringe. And you guessed it – if it weren’t for Joss Whedon, JJ Abrams would be our master. This show is awesome.

With a whopping 915,215 check-ins on Get Glue, and plenty of buzz in the Twitterverse, (@Dorcandave “Catching up with the last couple of weeks of Fringe via TiVo. Think my brain might explode! JJAbrams-you’re driving me mad with your stories.”) Fringe just may be the little sci-fi engine that could. But can it? Talking to the New York Daily News recently, executive producer J.H. Wyman talked about the reality that every season could be their last, so they’re fully prepared to wrap up this one as a series ender, if need be. We know it’s a complex issue that involves budgets and numbers and algorithms, but may we just boil it down to “Noooooo!!!!”

Read the entire blog.tivo.com article here.

DVR ratings:'Fringe,' 'Grimm,' and 'House' now lead the way

DVR ratings: 'Fringe,' 'Grimm,' and 'House' now lead the way
Matt Carter, TV Examiner
November 29, 2011

 We're always fascinated with just how many people actually opt to watch some of their favorite shows after the fact, and this new round of DVR ratings proves one thing -- people go out frequently on Friday nights, and some of the shows we thought were struggling are actually doing a little better than we thought.

With that, we come to the top five percentage-gainers in 18-49 viewing for the week of November 7 (which were just released on Tuesday).

 1."Fringe" - Will a show ever double its viewership in 18-49 viewing? "Fringe" came closer than all others this week, gaining 72% after its initial airing to finish with a 1.9 rating.

Read Matt Carter's full article at TV Examiner here.

Fringe Is TV's Most DVR'd Show

NY Magazine's Vulture column has a fascinating article/slideshow that explores the demographics of this season's crop of TV Shows. Did you know that Bones and Terra Nova are the top two shows for people over 50, or the top three shows for people with four years of college are Parks and Recreation, The Office, and Community? Here is what the demos have to say about Fringe:

Who's Getting Delayed?

Fox's Fringe gets the biggest percentage boost from time-shifting: Probably thanks to its Friday-night berth, it adds 133 percent more adults 18-49 viewers from DVRs. 90210, Up All Night, Modern Family, and Supernatural round out the top five most-DVRed shows this season. The show nobody bothers to DVR? America's Funniest Home Videos, which adds just 7 percent to its total. Trampoline accidents clearly need to be watched in real time.

That's a huge jump, but a 133% increase means that more people watch delayed than live. Of course, it would be better if they all watched live, but at least they are watching (and hopefully within the 3-day window so it counts in the L+3 and C+3 ratings).

* Thanks to SpoilerTV for finding this!

Fringe Posts Largest Gain In DVR This Season

Some recent ratings posts have pointed out the season low 1.1 "Live + Same Day" rating for last week's episode "And Those We Left Behind".

Based on that, some people have speculated a gloomy future for Fringe. However, they were missing some important information when forming their opinions.

The silver lining is that Fringe fans are still watching, and while the L+SD ratings are lower this week, the "Live + 3-Day DVR" ratings jump was the highest of any network show this season.

The Fox Research twitter feed notes that Fringe's ratings jumped 64% to a 1.8 when DVR numbers are factored in:

Last wk’s #FRINGE posted the largest % gain from L+SD to L+3 this season on any broadcast net, up +64% to a 1.8 L+3 rtg (vs. 1.1 L+SD)

According to ratings gurus TV By The Numbers, the L+3 rating is what most closely matches the C+3 rating used by advertisers.

Another thing to take into consideration (although it is not an excuse), is that other Friday night shows took a hit as well. NBC's Grimm was also down 0.2 in ratings this week, and CBS's Blue Bloods was down 0.4 in ratings.

So keep watching Fringe live, and if you just can't watch on Friday night, please DVR it and watch it as soon as possible.

For other tips to help Fringe, read BirdAndBear's post on "Overcoming Nielsen Invisibility", and our other Support Fringe posts.

TV Fanatic: "Fringe needs your help, fans."

Fringe Teaser: "Wallflower"
November 14th, 2011 1:57 PM
 by Matt Richenthal

Fringe needs your help, fans. The series dropped to an all-time low in viewers last week, leaving little doubt that this will be the final season for Peter, Olivia, Walter and company.

The best thing you can do to avoid this fate for the series? Tune in. Tell your friends to tune in. And your family. And, heck, even your enemies. The drama needs all the help it can get.

 Below, we've posted the official FOX trailer for Friday's "Wallflower." It will find the team connecting a mysterious death with a genetic disorder; and it will feature a major migraine problem for Olivia...

See Matt's entire TV Fanatic article here.
 And please, take his advice and tell everyone to watch "Wallflower" LIVE this Fringe Friday!

TV Ratings Report:Series Low for Fringe

TV Ratings Report: Series Low for Fringe
 November 12th, 2011 2:47 PM by Matt Richenthal

 Fringe delivered a tremendous episode last night, though you wouldn't know it based on the ratings for this Fox drama, which plummeted to a series low...

 8 p.m.
 Kitchen Nightmares: 3.92 million viewers
 A Gifted Man: 8.25 million
Chuck: 3.17 million
 Extreme Make Over Home Edition: 4.21 million
Nikita: 1.9 million

9 p.m.
 CSI: NY: 10.16 million
Grimm: 5.19 million
20/20: 5.58 million
Fringe: 3.07 million
Supernatural: 1.79 million

10 p.m.
Blue Bloods: 11.18 million
20/20: 5.87 million
Dateline: 4.9 million

See Matt Richenthal's TV Fanatic article here.

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.

Read more »

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.

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.

DVR ratings: 'Fringe' increases its audience by 66%

Matt Carter

TV Examiner

October 17, 2011

 

Now, we really understand how crazy the dilemma must be for Fox when it comes to whether or not to keep "Fringe" -- the show does succeed in the ratings to an extent for a Friday show, but very few people actually bother to watch it live.

For the second week of the season, the drama (which airs in the TV dungeon that is Friday night) brought in a 2.0 rating in the 18-49 demographic -- up a whopping 66% from the 1.2 it registered during the live viewing. This increase of 66% is far and away the best percentage on TV -- and it's not even close. Another show airing in the same timeslot -- "Supernatural" -- is in second place with a 57% gain up to a 1.1 rating.
Will this be enough to actually save the show? That's where it gets difficult, since the people who DVR the show are not actually helping the advertisers in any way. It's really once again an issue of the timeslot, and Fox wanting to keep the show around to please sci-fi fans.
Do you watch "Fringe" live, or do you prefer to DVR it?

Check this examiner.com article out here.

Ratings:Fringe Scares Up Small Gain

Ratings: Fringe Scares Up Small Gain, Nikita Dips, Supernatural Holds Steady
Matt Webb Mitovich

The promise of Peter’s imminent return perhaps played a part in perking up Fringe‘s latest numbers.
The Fox drama, with 3.24 million total viewers and a 1.3 rating, rebounded from last week’s all-time low to gain 8 percent in the demo. It also notched a 6 percent bump in total audience.

In fact, Fringe was one of only two Friday programs to register a week-to-week gain in the demo, and the only show to bring in additional viewers.

Read the entire tvline.com article here.

Fringe Ratings & March Madness

The ratings for Fringe have been holding steady. Even after a one-week break, "Os" kept up the 1.5 rating steak alive.

Tonight however, Fringe faces new competition in the form of college basketball - specifically the second day of the second round of the NCAA Div 1 Championship Tournament, aka March Madness.Normally, networks show reruns during popular sporting events like this, but there were plenty of new episodes yesterday, and Fringe will be new tonight.

There are four games that start around 7:00 and could overlap the start of Fringe: Kansas vs. Boston U., North Carolina vs. Longsland, Purdue vs. St. Peter’s, Xavier vs. Marquette, and four other games that could start after those games end: UNL vs. Illinois, Washington vs. Georgia, Georgetown vs. VCU, Syracuse vs. Indiana St.

If you don't care about sports, or college basketball in particular, then carry on watching Fringe LIVE tonight! If you are watching the games, but also want to watch Fringe, the easiest solution, if you have a DVR, would be to watch the early game, watch Fringe when that ends (possibly even live), then watch the late game on delay. However, I know some sports fans will only watch games live. How are you going to handle this?

Are you watching Fringe or March Madness?

'Fringe' execs 'positive about renewal'

Monday, March 14 2011, 10:40am EDT
By Morgan Jeffery
Jeff Pinkner Joel Wyman Fringe

The executive producers of Fringe have claimed that they are feeling positive about the show's chances of renewal.

Jeff Pinkner told The Daily Beast that Fox continues to support the sci-fi drama, despite moving it to an unpopular Friday night slot.

"Creatively, Fox has been unbelievably supportive," he insisted. "We have exceeded their expectations on Friday nights."

He added: "Having said that, who knows what the future brings? But, all the signs we're getting are incredibly positive… that we have several seasons of storytelling left."

Co-producer Joel Wyman also suggested that he and Pinkner had never expected Fringe to appeal to a mass audience.

"We knew when we set out that this would not be a massive, popular appeal show, because it's a show that requires you to sit forward and not sit back while you're watching," he suggested. "It's a show that demands attention and thought and rewards it."

The pair previously admitted that they are unconcerned about the show's ratings. The most recent episode attracted 3.76m viewers on Friday night.

Fringe continues on Fridays at 9/8c on Fox.
Source:digitalspy.com

Optimism From E!Online Regarding Season 4

This just in from Kristin and the E! Online website!
Take a little breath fellow fans, and keep praying.


Dan in Pompton Plains, N.J.: What are your thoughts on Fringe? Canceled or renewed? It would be a crime if it gets axed. Almost as bad as John Noble not getting an Emmy nod for his role as Walter/Walternate.Inquired about Fringe's future for you, and insiders are pretty optimistic that Fringe will get another season. The show is said to be a personal fave of Fox boss Kevin Reilly, the DVR numbers are great, and oh yeah, in comparison to shows Lie To Me and Human Target, the series is a veritable critical darling. There are no guarantees in life or in television programming, but we feel pretty confident that season four of Fringe will happen. Yay!
Source:eonline.com

Fringe Ratings 314: 6B

A little good news for Fringe fans: ratings for '6B' were UP last week! According to Entertainment Weekly:

Fringe averaged 4.1 million viewers and a 1.5 preliminary adults 18-49 rating, up one tenth — or 7% — from last week. That’s still a ways off from the hearty 1.9 rating the show posted its first two weeks in its new Friday time slot, but any increase is a positive sign. (Perhaps fans heard Joshua Jackson’s message that they better start watching on Fridays if they want the show to return).

Fox actually tied usual Friday leader CBS to win the night, helped by Fringe lead-in Kitchen Nightmares (3.9 million, 1.7) rising 13%. That’s helpful for Fringe too, the “who won the night” boast is valued by all networks.

While most Thursday shows hit season lows the night before, several Friday programs posted gains along with Fringe.

Hopefully this means the message is hitting home - please watch Fringe live on Fridays if you can, or at least DVR it and watch as soon as possible. Joshua Jackson says:

We really need our Fringe fans to tune in and watch us on Fridays ... It is going to take the people that like the show to watch the show and .. show their support if they want to see us stick around for another season.”

UPDATE: The Live + 7 DVR ratings are in for "Concentrate and Ask Again", and Fringe topped all shows for "Post Airdate 18-49 Rating % Increase from DVR Viewing", bumping Fringe's 1.6 to a 2.5 — a 56% increase! Now if we could just get all those people to watch live...

Joshua Jackson: 'Start the campaign' to save 'Fringe'

Feb 18, 2011 10:49 AM ET
Joshua Jackson: 'Start the campaign' to save ‘Fringe’
by James Hibberd

FoxFans wondering about the fate of Fringe are not alone. Star Joshua Jackson is watching the ratings along with the rest of us. “I’m a positive person in general, but we really need our Fringe fans to tune in and watch us on Fridays,” Jackson tells EW. “We did good when we first moved, but last week we did not have a good week, ratings wise. It is going to take the people that like the show to watch the show and start the campaign and show their support if they want to see us stick around for another season.”

Meanwhile, more data has come in about those ratings from last Friday: The episode’s adult demo climbed 57 percent over the next three days thanks to DVR playback. That’s a lot, and higher than the previous Friday’s Fringe DVR gain, suggesting that more fans are electing to watch the show over the weekend (not enough, however, to change the overall story — numbers still fell when comparing week to week). Still, the data reinforces Jackson’s point: Fans need to watch the show on Fridays.

As for what comes next on the show, Jackson gave us more reasons to tune in …
“Apparently I’m gonna be a dad,” he says. “And it is like the most extreme long-distance relationship, which I am pretty good at as it turns out in real life. My baby mama is in another universe. I think he has to find out, but I don’t know exactly how we’re gonna work that out yet. I have not see the finale script yet or anything. The whole other universe thing and the machine and the war of the two worlds is obviously the end of this season. But you would think they can’t just let the baby thing fall away.”

Jackson also noted the show has gotten “very Romeo and Juliet-ish in” the last couple of weeks but says the show “will go back to some straight Fringeiness very soon.”

“We have been exploring our feelings a lot lately,” he says. “I feel sort of bad for fans of the relationship. The Peter-Olivia supporters have been taken for quite a ride. He wants to be with her, and in his mind it was her. But in her mind, he should have been able to tell the difference. But we get back to some cold hard out-there science stuff soon enough.”

We’re ready for more Fringeiness! Check back on Saturday mornings to see the latest Fringe ratings.

– Carrie Bell contributed to this report
Source:entertainmentweekly.com
Thanks to b3rt4 for the tip!

'Fringe,' 'Human Target' Renewal Chances

Feb 16, 2011 12:49 AM ET
Fox on 'Fringe,' 'Human Target' renewal chances
by James Hibberd

How does Fox feel about Fringe’s performance on Friday so far? Quite enthusiastic.

“I’m so psyched about it,” says Fox entertainment president Kevin Reilly. “It does go to show you the loyalty of the genre audience, when you get the right show. I’m so grateful to that audience, I’d like to shake their hands. We have a lot of passion for that show here.”

Now, this interview was just before last Friday’s second-in-row dip, but most other shows also fell that night and one rating does not a reputation make. As for Human Target ….
“We have some decisions to make about that,” Reilly says, “and Lie to Me as well. These shows are not being rejected. They’re doing a consistent and solid number. There are networks that would be happy to take those shows. We have to look at our shelf space.”

Translation: We’re going to decide about Human Target and Lie after we see our pilots for next fall. But keep in mind, Fox only programs two hours a night, so that’s a pretty crowded shelf….
Source:entertainmentweekly.com