The shrieking hyenas known as CBS viewers have spoken, and they have decreed: GIVE US ALL YOUR BAZINGAS. BAZINGAS BAZINGAS BAZINGAS. Last night, The Big Bang Theory aired not only its highest rated episode of the season, but also the highest rated episode of the show’s entire six-season run. This is why we can’t have nice things, America, like Alison Brie on time. According to TV by the Numbers:
The Big Bang Theory matched its largest audience ever and equaled its season-high adults 18-49 rating, according to Nielsen preliminary live plus same day ratings for Thursday, Nov. 8…The Big Bang Theory swept its time period, finishing first in households (10.4/16), viewers (16.54m), adults 25-54 (6.8/17), adults 18-49 (5.0/15), and adults 18-34 (3.5/15). If the ratings hold, The Big Bang Theory was the night’s #1 program in households, viewers, adults 25-54, adults 18-49, and adults 18-34. The Big Bang Theory posted series-high household ratings, matched series-high viewer delivery, posted its best delivery in adults 25-54 since Feb. 9, 2012, and matched its season-high adult 18-49 performance. (Via)
How did this happen? Blame TBS. The “Very Funny” network began airing reruns of The Big Bang Theory in September 2011, meaning everyone who was too smart to watch the show when it originally aired or too lazy to head down to the local haunted Blockbuster to rent the DVDs has now caught up. Same thing happened with How I Met Your Mother, which had its best season, ratings-wise, last year after hitting the syndication $$$day.
To add insult to the injury that is 16 million viewers for Big Bang, 3.8 for Parks:
The CBS sitcom, produced by Warner Bros. Television, is expected to generate $50 million from the sale of merchandise this year. That could grow to even more as Warner Bros. Consumer Products rolls out a new line of licensed products tied to the show overseas.
That kind of licensing revenue is considerable for any TV property, but even more notable for a sitcom. Studios typically hold back on major product pushes unless they have the kind of rabid fanbase that shows like The Walking Dead or properties from DC or Marvel enjoy.
But it’s not surprising that Big Bang has joined the ranks of properties ripe for merchandising opportunities. The comedy often references pop-culture properties, and its main characters regularly display logos for DC superheroes like the Flash in their attire. (Via)
When I was in high school, I once scribbled a dumb idea on a greasy napkin about a novelist suffering from a serious case of writer’s block, until he came up with the idea to create the most soulless, pandering, lazy science fiction franchise ever, solely because he knew that nerds = money.
That was before I knew people did this in real life, see: Theory, Big Bang.
