Behind the great broadcast ratings dip

 There is really just one word to describe the Big Four’s collective ratings this winter: bad.

After a so-so fall, new shows are putting up historically low numbers at midseason. Veteran shows are sliding to series lows.

And the networks produced one of their worst collective showings in February sweeps history last week, the week ended Feb. 17, with only one network drawing better than a 2.0 rating among adults 18-49.

That was Fox, which earned its first weekly win of the sweeps with a 2.1 adults 18-49 rating and 6 share. CBS was second with a 1.9/5, followed by ABC in third with a 1.8/5, Univision fourth with a 1.5/4 and NBC fifth with a 1.3/4.

The Big Four networks averaged a 7.1 rating all together for the week. By comparison, last year those four combined for a 9.3 during the same week.

That’s a 23 percent drop. Even accounting for the absence of “The Voice,” which was drawing big numbers on NBC at this time last year, it’s a steep decline.

Every network is suffering. All four saw year-to-year declines for the week, and all four have had real trouble spots this month.

CBS, which leads the sweeps period in every demographic, has seen series-low openers for reality shows “Survivor” and “The Amazing Race,” and yesterday it yanked the new unscripted series “The Job” after just two weeks.

ABC’s “Zero Hour” and NBC’s “Do No Harm” both premiered to the networks’ lowest-ever in-season drama debut ratings. Several of their veteran shows, including “Smash” and “Revenge,” have hit series lows this month.

And Fox’s one-time juggernaut “American Idol” has dipped to ratings not seen since season one. Meanwhile, its plan to relocate “Touch” to Fridays has been a huge bust, with the drama drawing just a 0.7 last week.

Still, these struggles may be more a reflection on the medium itself than anything the networks are doing. DVR viewership continues to climb, meaning that the live-plus-same-day-DVR-playback ratings that the weekly ratings performances are based on are dropping.

Cable has put up a stiff challenge to broadcast this winter, with AMC’s “The Walking Dead” drawing stronger numbers among adults 18-49 than any Big Four show.

And the era of must-see events on broadcast is largely over. Though a handful of specials such as the Super Bowl, the Grammys and the Oscars are capable of drawing huge audiences, only a few shows can muster more than 20 million viewers a week anymore.

There are just too many other media choices vying for viewers’ attention, which means the low ratings aren’t just some one-week or one-month fluke.

***

In broadcast ratings for the week ended Feb. 17:

Among adults 18-49, Fox was first for the week with a 2.1 average rating and a 6 share, followed by CBS at 1.9/5, ABC at 1.8/5, Univision at 1.5/4, NBC at 1.3/4, CW at 0.6/2, Telemundo at 0.5/2, UniMás and ION at 0.3/1, Estrella at 0.1/0 and MundoFox and Azteca at 0.0/0.

Top five English-language Big Five shows (18-49s): 1. CBS’s “The Big Bang Theory” 5.5; 2. Fox’s “American Idol-Wednesday” 4.3; Tie-3. CBS’s “Two and a Half Men” and ABC’s “Modern Family” 3.8; 5. Fox’s “American Idol-Thursday”3.7.

Top five English-language Big Five shows (total viewers): 1. CBS’s “The Big Bang Theory” 17.89 million; 2. CBS’s “Person of Interest” 14.87 million; 3 CBS’s “Two and a Half Men” 13.69 million; 4. Fox’s “American Idol-Wednesday” 13.45 million; 5. Fox’s “American Idol-Thursday” 12.59 million.

Show on the rise: ABC’s “The Bachelor,” Monday, 8 p.m. The long-running reality show posted a 2.7 among 18-49s, up 13 percent from the previous week’s 2.4.

Show on the decline: Fox’s “The Following,” Monday, 9 p.m. The first-year drama slipped 17 percent week-to-week among 18-49s, from a 2.9 rating to a 2.4.

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