Television ratings aren’t as often discussed as they once were, in large part because we’re all beginning to discount overnight ratings. Once the seven-day ratings with DVR are tallied, the news cycle has passed, and people aren’t as interested. But some of us are interested in what people are watching this summer, so I took the liberty to compile the highest rated scripted shows of the summer from both cable and network television (they are basically running even these days), based on the most recent Live+7 Days of DVR figures.
I did not include reality shows because those aren’t of much interest here (for the record, America’s Got Talent and Big Brother lead all shows), and I only counted the ratings among the 18-49 demo, because that’s what the demo here is largely interested in.
Here were the top shows, as of the end of June — and you might be surprised to see that True Detective has fallen to No. 2. In overnight ratings, True Detective has continued to fall — that L+7 figure was for the second episode of the season, while the show has dropped nearly a million in overnight viewers since its debut.
Maybe surprisingly, the M. Night Shyamalan series, Wayward Pines, is the most watched scripted series of the summer, post Game of Thrones.
Based on the most recent Live + 7 Days of DVR figures, here’s the top 15 shows in the 18-49 demo.
1. Wayward Pines (Fox) — 2.4
2. True Detective (HBO) — 2.1
3. Under the Dome (CBS) — 2.2
4. The Whispers (ABC) — 1.5
5. Ballers (HBO) — 1.4
6. Pretty Little Liars (ABC Family) — 1.4
7. The Last Ship (TNT) — 1.4
8. Rizzoli and Isles (TNT) — 1.3
9. Astronaut Wives Club (ABC) — 1.3
10. Suits (USA) — 1.2
11. Falling Skies (TNT) — 1.1
12. Power (Starz) — 1.0
13. Major Crimes (TNT) — 1.0
14. Mr. Robot (USA) — 0.9
15. Humans (AMC) — 0.9
In case you’re interested, Penny Dreadful on Showtime was not much of a factor (0.4); Brink on HBO doesn’t register; Tyrant still gets a decent audience on FX (0.8), as does Inside Amy Schumer (0.8). One of the better shows of the summer, Lifetime’s UnReal, hasn’t made much of a dent yet (0.4), and the much improved Halt and Catch Fire has not improved in the ratings. The AMC series doesn’t register, but the overnight ratings of the most recent episode has less than half a million total viewers tuning in. That’s bad.
(Via TVByTheNumbers)
