Reassuring LOST News
So since I'm one to track TV ratings, I've noticed that one could construe the ratings for Lost this season as troubling. CBS's competition in the Wednesdays at 9 timeslot is Criminal Minds, which has gained viewers sharply in its second season and now finds itself almost neck-in-neck with Lost in the Nielsen ratings. What's more, Lost typically loses a small amount of viewers from the first half hour to the second, whereas Criminal Minds gains a few, and it has also lost viewers since its season premiere. All this is troubling, right?
Wrong. There's a great New York Times article that details the battle during this timeslot and the other big CBS/ABC matchup, CSI and Grey's Anatomy on Thursdays at 9. While CBS will probably milk the battle because Criminal Minds is the clear underdog-that-could, the idea that Lost is in trouble just plain doesn't stand to closer scrutiny, and the Times handlely debunks it. The second-half-hour dropoff is the result of spillover viewers from 8pm's Dancing with the Stars, Lost's ratings are actually up from the second half of last season, and the shows reach two completely different audiences: Lost beats Criminal Minds in the coveted 18-49-year-old demographic by a large margin each week.
The Times also mentions that the younger viewers that Lost attracts are more apt to download the show off iTunes, record it on their DVR, or watch it for free on ABC.com. One thing they didn't mention, though: watching Lost for many of its fans is a group activity, and Nielsen can't measure that accurately, especially in a comparison of households. Congratulations to CBS for good counterprogramming, but Lost is in as good a shape as ever.
Wrong. There's a great New York Times article that details the battle during this timeslot and the other big CBS/ABC matchup, CSI and Grey's Anatomy on Thursdays at 9. While CBS will probably milk the battle because Criminal Minds is the clear underdog-that-could, the idea that Lost is in trouble just plain doesn't stand to closer scrutiny, and the Times handlely debunks it. The second-half-hour dropoff is the result of spillover viewers from 8pm's Dancing with the Stars, Lost's ratings are actually up from the second half of last season, and the shows reach two completely different audiences: Lost beats Criminal Minds in the coveted 18-49-year-old demographic by a large margin each week.
The Times also mentions that the younger viewers that Lost attracts are more apt to download the show off iTunes, record it on their DVR, or watch it for free on ABC.com. One thing they didn't mention, though: watching Lost for many of its fans is a group activity, and Nielsen can't measure that accurately, especially in a comparison of households. Congratulations to CBS for good counterprogramming, but Lost is in as good a shape as ever.
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