The Live+3 Day DVR rankings are starting to trickle in and, like I promised, I’m going to start occasionally looking at those numbers, which make up a bigger and bigger picture of the TV landscape. The key problem is that while Fast National ratings come in with clockwork regularity each morning between 8 and 8:30 and are reported by each of the major networks simultaneously, the Live+3 figures may get to the networks at the same time each day, reflecting ratings for shows that premiered five days earlier, the networks have yet to get into a routine of transparency and spin when it comes to these numbers. So I’ll be reporting them as I can, when I can and as things feel notable.
Certainly for Premiere Week, the numbers seem notable and so I’ll give them some exposure.
Most figures are in for Live+3 DVR rankings for Monday, September 23 and Tuesday, September 24. And, if we’re being honest, what we’ve learned isn’t all that different from what we already knew.
To wit…
*** ABC’s “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” remains the season’s new standout in the key 18-49 demographic, adding 1.78 key demo ratings points — from a 4.7 L+Same Day to 6.48 L+3 — and also adding 3.7 million total viewers — from 12.1 million L+SD to 15.8 million L+3. Given the genre and demographic skew of “S.H.I.E.L.D.” this kind of gain was inevitable. However, given where “The Crazy Ones” premiered overall, there isn’t much chance that anything will supplant the CBS comedy as TV’s most watched new show and I suppose there’s even a remote chance “Crazy Ones” could get the DVR bump necessary to move ahead of “S.H.I.E.L.D.” 18-49, though that would be fairly shocking.
*** There’s already an interesting battle brewing for second place for new dramas among adults 18-49. NBC’s “Blacklist” got a 34 percent Live+3 bump and went from a 3.8 key demo to a 5.1 L+SD. For now, that puts it ahead of “Sleepy Hollow,” but the FOX drama got a big 48 percent bump and rose from a 3.1 L+SD key demo rating to a 4.6, giving it 92 percent retention from its premiere last week. Given standard broadcast TV attrition, “Blacklist” will have its work cut out to equal that retention and the Monday drama race could be fun to monitor for the next few weeks.
*** “Hostages” got some relatively good news. With a L+SD key demo rating of a 1.8, “Hostages” wasn’t in any immediate danger of being yanked, but it was also an early disappointment for CBS. However, with a 50 percent L+3 DVR bump, “Hostages” went up to a more respectable 2.7 key demo rating, also adding 35 percent in viewers to rise to 10 million. With “Castle” adding 45 percent and rising to a 3.2 key demo rating, though, “Hostages” remained in third for the 10 p.m. hour.
*** CBS comedies got a mixed Live+3 report for Monday. “How I Met Your Mother” proved to mostly be a live draw, going up by only 19 percent, but a 4.4 key demo rating is still terrific for the long-running sitcom. After a low 2.8 key demo Live+SD premiere, “2 Broke Girls” was up 32 percent to a 3.7 key demo rating and up 21 percent to 10.7 million viewers, while “Mom” was up 28 percent to a 3.2 key demo rating and up 20 percent to 9.54 million viewers. The big test for “2 Broke Girls” and “Mom” will come this week when “We Are Men” joins the lineup.
*** CBS’ powerhouse Tuesday just gets more powerhouse-y with Live+3 figures. In terms of percentages, it’s really hard for CBS’ Tuesday lineup to post the sort of gains that make other networks crow, but when it comes to volume, CBS doesn’t struggle. “NCIS” already drew over 20 million Live+SD viewers, but added 3.43 million for a Live+3 tally of 23.45, while also rising 22 percent among adults 18-49 to a 4.4 key demo rating. “NCIS: Los Angeles” added 2.05 million viewers to 18.4 million Live+SD and rose 13 percent to a 3.4 key demo rating. After what was considered a somewhat soft Tuesday 10 p.m. premiere, “Person of Interest” at least got bigger gains than “NCIS: LA,” rising 25 percent in viewers to 15.5 million L+3 and 30 percent in the key demo to a 3.0 rating L+SD.
*** UPDATE: FOX’s Tuesday comedies all posted Live+3 growth of over 25 percent, which isn’t hugely surprising given how low their starting position was. “New Girl” was the biggest of the comedies in Live+SD with a 2.1 rating among adults 18-49 and also posted the biggest gain with a 48 percent jump to a 3.1 key demo rating. There was an encouraging 39 percent jump for “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” to to a 2.5 key demo Live+3, while “The Mindy Project” rose 33 percent to a 2.0 key demo rating, putting it ahead of “Dads,” which was up 27 percent to a 1.9 key demo in Live+3.
*** UPDATE: ABC’s “Lucky 7” added only 0.2 among adults 18-49, a 15 percent bump to a 1.5 key demo rating Live+3. It’s hard to imagine it getting only one or two more airings if something strange doesn’t happen.