GW: Season premiere ratings fail to impress

[GateWorld]

Season premiere ratings fail to impress
The season premieres of Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis failed to attract big numbers on July 15, staying about even with last season's average viewership. But the shows did help make The SCI FI Channel the top-rated cable network for the night among viewers 18 to 49 and viewers 25 to 54.

Full Story ...

[rosewood]

Maybe they have to take into account the "Harry Potter" book release factor.

[Osiris]

And maybe the channel is available on more area now.

[macktheknife]

I wonder how many millions downloaded it.

[prion]

For those interested, here's the press release:


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


Contact:

New Seasons of 'Stargate SG-1,' 'Stargate Atlantis' and 'Battlestar Galactica'
Make SCI FI #1 For the Night


New York, NY (July 18, 2005) - SCI FI Channel reasserts its dominance on Friday nights. The July 15 (8pm-11pm ET/PT) season premieres of its 'SCI FI Friday' lineup of original series led SCI FI to the #1 spot on basic cable for P18-49 and P25-54. The season 2 premiere of the Channel's critically-acclaimed 'Battlestar Galactica' was the #1 program on television - including broadcast and cable - among M25-54 and M18-49.

'Stargate SG-1' (8pm) kicked off its record ninth original season with a 2.1 HH rating, 2,610,000 viewers P2+ and 1.6 million P25-54. With the revamped cast, which includes new team members Beau Bridges and Ben Browder, the series has been rejuvenated. Versus its January '05 premiere, Friday's 'SG-1' debut was up +5% in HH ratings, 5% in P2+, +6% among P25-54 and +8% among P18-49.

'Stargate Atlantis' (9pm) launched into its sophomore season with a 2.2 HH rating, 2,783,000 viewers P2+ and 1.9 million P25-54. Compared against its January '05 premiere, Friday's 'Atlantis' debut was up +6% in HH ratings, +6% in P2+, +8% among P25-54 and +11% among P18-49.

'Battlestar Galactica' (10pm) kickstarted its second season as the #1 program on all of television among M18-49 and M25-54 - beating every cable and network program that aired that night. The season 2 premiere also marked 'Battlestar's highest-rated episode to date. With a 2.6 HH rating, "Scattered" delivered 3,053,000 total viewers (P2+) and 2.1 million P25-54.

Other SCI FI highlights:
--SCI FI Channel was the #2 basic cable network on Friday night among P18-34, F18-49 and F25-54
--SCI FI had the #2, #3 and #4 programs of the night among P25-54 and P18-49
--'Stargate SG-1,' 'Stargate Atlantis' and 'Battlestar Galactica' were the Top 3 cable programs for the day among M25-54 and account for three of the Top 4 among M18-49
--'Battlestar Galactica' and 'Stargate Atlantis' were both ranked in the Top 10 cable programs for the day among F25-54 (#7 and #8, respectively). 'Galactica' also ranked #9 among F18-49

All three 'SCI FI Friday' series were honored with Emmy nominations last week for Outstanding Special Visual Effects. 'Stargate Atlantis' was nominated for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music.

SCI FI Channel is a television network where "what if" is what's on. SCI FI fuels the imagination of viewers with original series and events, blockbuster movies and classic science fiction and fantasy programming, as well as a dynamic Web site (www.scifi.com) and magazine. Launched in 1992, and currently in 85 million homes, SCI FI Channel is a network of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies.

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[xkawaiix]

I think a lot of people downloaded it. But still, I'm shocked to see that not may tuned in.

[GateTraveler]

Wow. That is really disappointing. This may mean the 1st year (ever I believe) that SG1 doesn't gain viewers over the previous season. The whole night did not do very well (by last year's standards anyway).

We'll have to watch how this progresses but it certainly isn't a good sign.

EDIT: SciFi certainly put the happy face on in their press release though . Spin, spin, spin....

[GateWorld]

The bright spot is that it's not just Stargate. BSG is also barely up from last year's average. Methinks Skiffy may write off the night and pay more attention to how things build in the coming weeks ... assuming they do build.

Darren

[TechnoWraith]

Well, who's to say that alot of fans are also turned off by the new opening credits. Though that may not have a real big dent in ratings, however.

Remember all the hype about atlantis from last year? I mean months before the Atlantis premiere, scifi was drilling it into our heads how cool Atlantis was. It seems that the new seasons didn't get as much hype as they did last year. Or maybe it's just me.

[Major Fischer]

I'm surprised SG1 didn't loose more viewers. I know a lot of people who were so fed up with the consistant lack of quality from season eight, the lack of team focused episodes, and now an a new cast with an absense of Amanda Tapping (not complaining about it, just citing it), that they no intention of watching season 9.

If it wasn't on before Atlantis I wouldn't have watched it.

[Kas]

Considering all the changes which have taken place which still has to filter through to the public, I believe that there is definitely room for growth once word of mouth gets around.

A 2.1 opening is not bad at all... S8's averages were raised by that 'out of the norm' opening of 2.4 - prior to that only 2 first-run episodes had hit above a 2 in the show's history.

This opening has generated the most excitement for an episode for a very long time...so I really anticipate a successful season.

[morjana]

Season premiere ratings fail to impress
The season premieres of Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis failed to attract big numbers on July 15, staying about even with last season's average viewership. But the shows did help make The SCI FI Channel the top-rated cable network for the night among viewers 18 to 49 and viewers 25 to 54.

Full Story ...

Thank you, Darren (GateWorld) for the information.

Morjana

[GateTraveler]

Considering all the changes which have taken place which still has to filter through to the public, I believe that there is definitely room for growth once word of mouth gets around.

A 2.1 opening is not bad at all... S8's averages were raised by that 'out of the norm' opening of 2.4 - prior to that only 2 first-run episodes had hit above a 2 in the show's history.

This opening has generated the most excitement for an episode for a very long time...so I really anticipate a successful season.

Let's hope so but realistically, I don't think it looks good. Historically, premiers (and conclusions) are the highest rated episodes of the season - for any show not just SG1. You can reasonably expect a slight decline from here.

However, having said that, it is true that last year was an anomaly considering the debut of Atlantis. Maybe these numbers are more in line with what they should be. I was expecting better though and I'm sure SciFi execs were as well.

[david2708]

Why is anybody suprised? Who'd bother watching after the rubbish served up in S8. If you thought these numbers were disappointing, wait till about eight eps in and the audience drops even further. My prediction of cancellation is looking more and more realistic.
When and if it does, don't blame the new cast. The rot set in years ago.

[Jeff O'Connor]

For whatever reason, I had a feeling both shows wouldn't do quite so well with their premieres this time around, I simply didn't voice my opinion because I hadn't quite so much of an explanation to back them up.

Either way, cancellation? I highly doubt SG-1 will end with this year, I'm seeing another and perhaps another thereafter. If things get better ratings wise, I'd see more than ten years but if not, I'm seeing at least a tenth season, to be honest. Even if the ratings stay a little lower than eight's, I see a tenth season.

Atlantis? No, it won't end for a while yet, methinks, so long as things don't divebomb out've nowhere. Is this so bad, 2.2? Depends, really. Was I hoping for a 2.5 or so? Yes, definitely. Do I think 2.2 is dreadful? Not at all. So long as things stay 1.9 and above at all times, I think we're doing well enough for now. Ideally, 2.2 on average would be stellar IMO.

And Galactica, way to go with the 2.6, that is quite good. I only wish SG-1 and Atlantis would get those numbers.