As the Fall 2015 season kicks off, I decided to provide a quick guide to this site for new/casual readers so that you know how to get the most from it. The main purpose of CancelledSciFi.com is to track the ratings for the currently airing sci fi / fantasy shows (the schedule is available at this link) and to predict the chances of whether they will get cancelled or renewed. The primary gauge for this is the overnight ratings based on the 18-49 demographic provided by the Nielsen Company. Other factors are also taken into account and I know that there has been a lot of lip-service given by the networks lately to the delayed viewing results, but the simple fact is that the Overnights continue to be the leading indicators (especially for the broadcast nets) of whether a show will get cancelled or renewed (more on how to see the delayed viewing numbers below). I have a quick rundown of how all this works in the Cancelled Sci Fi FAQ if you want to read more (and I am currently working on a glossary of terms that I hope to have completed in the next month).
For the quickest access to the latest numbers, you should follow our Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site. That is where I post the preliminary Overnights, typically shortly after they are widely released by the Nielsens. For the shows airing on the broadcast networks, the numbers are typically available between 10 AM and 11 AM EST the morning after the show airs. For the cable entries, these numbers are typically available between 4 PM and 5 PM EST the day after the show airs. For Friday cable shows, those numbers come out Monday afternoon (Friday broadcast net shows are available Saturday morning). A second round of numbers for the broadcast networks referred to as the Finals comes out after the preliminaries and these are adjusted for things like overruns or local preemptions. I will report these on the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site in the afternoon if there are any notable changes (there is only one round of numbers for the cable shows).
In my Cancellation Watch column, I will provide further analysis of these numbers. The full round up of the prior week’s numbers comes out usually on Tuesdays (covering the prior Monday thru Sunday), and I will put up other posts throughout the week with further analysis if something notable comes up and/or if breaking announcements come out. The Cancellation Watch Page will give a full list of all the recently cancelled, currently airing, returning, and upcoming shows with their statuses. This also includes the Cancellation Watch Tracker (also found in the sidebar) which gives a quick rundown of the most notable recent activity.
On a monthly basis, I put out the Sci Fi TV Power Rankings which give a full assessment of where all the currently airing and returning shows stand in relation to one another. These take into account more than just the most recent ratings, factoring in things like social network activity, international partnerships/financing, syndication, etc.
Another regular column of interest is the Prime Time Sci Fi TV listing which comes out on Sundays and shows what will be airing on the upcoming Monday thru Sunday Prime Time schedule. Other regular columns include The DVR Skew which looks at the delayed viewing numbers vs. the Overnights, the Sci Fi TV Development Report which runs down recent development announcements or updates to upcoming shows, and the Sci Fi TV Pulse Polls which will come out monthly and measure how engaged viewers are in the currently airing shows. And for a little bit of nostalgia, a couple of times a month I put up the Cancelled Too Soon/Before It Began posts which look back at sci fi / fantasy TV shows that were truncated way too soon or pilots that never made it to series.
Also of interest are the TV show pages on this site for the currently airing, returning, upcoming, and (relatively) recently cancelled sci fi / fantasy shows. You can see the listing of shows at this link. For those that are currently airing, I update the Season to Date numbers (including delayed viewing) usually on a weekly basis during the season. So those offer a great place to keep up with how your favorite shows are doing.
Our About page also gives you a quick rundown of all the same information above as well as some additional links of interest.
And if you are interested in writing about sci fi television, we are always looking for new people to jump onboard and help out. And/or if you have a blog where you cover sci fi TV, we would be happy to do some post sharing. If you are interested, feel free to contact us at cancelledscifi [at] gmail [dot] com. And if you have questions about the site or any of the information that we have posted here, feel free to contact us at that email address. And we look forward to your involvement in the comments section, on our Twitter site, and/or on our Facebook page throughout the television season.
