Unless otherwise noted, the ratings numbers below are based on the final overnights and may vary slightly from the preliminaries reported on the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site.
Ratings results for the sci fi / fantasy shows airing Wednesday 8/6 and Thursday 8/7:
On the Hot Seat: CBS Summer sci fi entry Extant saw its numbers drop yet again as this last Wednesday’s installment pulled a 1.0 rating in the 18-49 demographic with 5.9 million total viewers. That’s a low point for the show and a clear red flag for its renewal chances. It is true that Amazon is picking up part of the production costs in exchange for exclusive streaming rights, but CBS certainly expected better ratings from this high profile show which has Halle Berry and Steven Spielberg attached. At this point, the chances that the network will bring the show back for a second season seem to be diminishing, so it may fall on Amazon to decide if they want to foot the entire bill and add this to their lineup of original programming. I can’t say for certain how all that will shake out when the season comes to an end, but I have to believe the CBS is considering other options for its Summer schedule next year and I am raising the Cancellation Alert on this one to Medium now. And for those interested, ABC’s Game of Thrones meets reality series entry The Quest slipped from its low premiere last week to only a 0.6 rating. At this point, it’s likely the best that one can hope for is the chance to air out its first season without getting yanked from the schedule.
Following are the full ratings results* from the last few days with my comments and keep an eye on the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for the latest numbers and any breaking news.
Extant CBS Wed 8/6 10 PM
Rating: 1.0 | Tot Viewers: 5.9 | StD Rating: 1.3 | Target: 1.4 | Cancellation Alert: Medium
High expectations have gone south quick for this show.
Defiance Syfy Thu 8/7 8 PM
Rating: 0.5 | Tot Viewers: 1.6 | StD Rating: 0.5 | Target: 0.6 | Cancellation Alert: Moderate
It improved from last week’s 0.4 rating, but it’s still lower than I am sure Syfy would prefer. It needs to hold at least at the 0.5 level if not improve if it wants to make it to a third season.
Dominion Syfy Thu 8/7 9 PM
Rating: 0.5 | Tot Viewers: 1.5 | StD Rating: 0.5 | Target: 0.6 | Cancellation Alert: Moderate
It held steady with last week, but is that good enough? This has to be a pricey entry for Syfy and I’m sure they would prefer its overnights came in a few ticks higher.
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*Metric Definitions:
Rating: Overnight rating in the 18-49 demographic for same day viewing based on the final numbers unless otherwise noted
Tot Viewers: Estimated total viewers to tune in to the episode for same day viewing
StD Rating: Season to date average for the rating metric tracked above.
Target: The estimated average rating that the show needs to sustain to get renewed.
Cancellation Alert: My prediction of the likelihood that a show will get cancelled. From least to most likely the statuses are Low, Moderate, Medium, Elevated, and High.
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Ratings Source: TV by the Numbers
Nielsen TV Ratings: ©2014 The Nielsen Company. All Rights Reserved.
