Futurama delivers strong ratings!

[Reply #280 on:]

Part of the reason for the recent boost in numbers might be the time of year.  Summers traditionally have the lowest number of viewers, hence the several-month dip in numbers in July and August, but we are now entering into autumn, with its higher viewership numbers.

So the observed pattern for Futurama this year (viewership starts out high, dips below 1.5M in July and August, then rebounds in late August and September) could be consistent with a steady fanbase, that is modified by the time of year each episode is aired.

[Reply #281 on:]

When I first saw BBS (back in late 2008, it got me hooked), they showed it in episodic format, and they always managed to end it on the best part, I'd be like 'FFFUUUUU' and then I'd have to wait an entire week for the next part. It was great, gave me something to look forward to. I guess it works both ways, even if you watch the episodic format in one big go, you may not get the thrill of waiting for the next episode, but you get the additional captions and bumpers.

That's a good point, Danny; I hadn't thought about how the show's broken up in other markets. But I'm almost positive that CC has never aired the episodes apart from one another, on a night-by-night basis. They're always shown consecutively, in one big block. It's strange to me, it is!

That's good news about the ratings though, everyone. A steady 1.5 is probably good enough to be in CC's top 3 right? Behind tosh.0 and SP.

I think the Daily Show and the Colbert Report may beat it out from time to time, too. But yeah, I'd say it's among CC's most successful shows, and its ratings have both been steady and above-average for a show that is airing on a cable network (that not everyone has access to) in the summer (when fewer people are watching television). I'd say things are looking good.

Also, what Mongo said.

[Reply #282 on:]

Tweeted by Slurmed:

[NEWS] #Futurama got 1.571 million viewers (100K more than last week) with ep. "Overclockwise" the last Thu. on @ComedyCentral

[Reply #283 on:]

Thursday Cable Ratings

1.406 (July 14) Silence of the Clamps
1.407 (July 21) Yo Leela Leela
1.493 (July 28) All the Presidents' Heads
1.459 (August 4) Mobius Dick
1.462 (August 11) Fry Am the Egg Man
1.382 (August 18) The Tip of the Zoidberg
1.524 (August 25) Cold Warriors
1.571 (September 1) Overclockwise


Ratings staying strong.
Though why are they twice in the list?

Code: [Select]

Futurama CMDY 10:00 PM 1.571 0.8
Futurama CMDY 9:29 PM 1.190 0.5

[Reply #284 on:]

They show the prior week's episode before the new episode in case of continuity. Comedy central knows what they're doing.

[Reply #285 on:]

Dude, we went over this on the last page. It was the airing of BBS Pt 4. Why does no one listen to me :<

[Reply #286 on:]

Umm... I was quoting a post on the last page? To show Danny that what he posted was already posted days ago.

[Reply #287 on:]

1.406 (July 14) Silence of the Clamps
1.407 (July 21) Yo Leela Leela
1.493 (July 28) All the Presidents' Heads
1.459 (August 4) Mobius Dick
1.462 (August 11) Fry Am the Egg Man
1.382 (August 18) The Tip of the Zoidberg
1.524 (August 25) Cold Warriors
1.571 (September 1) Overclockwise
1.482 (September 8) Reincarnation

[Reply #288 on:]

Bit of a dip, but not bad at all I think...

[Reply #289 on:]

Wasn't that the first day of the American football season, or am I misremembering?

[Reply #290 on:]

Wasn't that the first day of the American football season, or am I misremembering?

Yes, I believe it was.

[Reply #291 on:]

Season 9= Amazing
If true=Good Ratings
If True=Another Renewal

[Reply #292 on:]

Season 9?  When did that happen?

[Reply #293 on:]

looks like Solid Gold Bender is from the future and is now taking a trip back to hus youth...

[Reply #294 on:]

Season 9?  When did that happen?

I think he means Broadcast Season 9, not Production Season 9.

[Reply #295 on:]

I like to think of "more seasons" means that there has been "more success", so I mostly refer to the broadcast seasons.

[Reply #296 on:]

Season 9= Amazing
If true=Good Ratings
If True=Another Renewal

If this was how things worked, the show would never have gone off the air in the first place.

[Reply #297 on:]

Well, obviously Futurama was brought back by popular demand. Airing the movies was Comedy Central's test to see if it would work. So obviously their goal is to make money which as everyone knows is mostly from views. Fox simply didn't like Futurama because, well, their idiots. Still as long as we keep watching, I'm sure they'll keep making.

[Reply #298 on:]

The show was mainly brought back because of how successful the DVD sales were...

[Reply #299 on:]

Exactly, they were Comedy Central's test to see if it would work. Thank you for reminding me.

[Reply #300 on:]

Airing the movies was Comedy Central's test to see if it would work.

The show was mainly brought back because of how successful the DVD sales were...

Exactly, they were Comedy Central's test to see if it would work. Thank you for reminding me.

I get the impression you're either a little confused, or don't really know what you're on about here. Let me make it simple for you.

In the beginning, there was a TV show called Futurama, and the creators looked upon their work and saw that it was good. Then, the show was left in limbo for a while. No official cancellation, just no renewal. So the creators worked to get more Futurama out in any way they could, and eventually they got a direct to DVD movie series greenlit.

This was based largely on the fanbase for the show complusively buying DVDs and merchandise. The show was still making money, so there was a lot of potential to generate revenue.

The movies were divided up into episodes, and these were released along with the existing episodes for syndication. Comedy Central began to show them.

Following strong sales of the movies, and fans clamouring for more, Comedy Central decided to buy the rights and put the creators to work on making more Futurama.

Merchandising sales, DVD sales, and a strong, dedicated fanbase were the driving forces behind Futurama's purchase by Comedy Central and the reason that the hard work of the show's creators was able to pay off. But the main reason that it came back at all was that the show's creators were putting a lot of hard work in behind the scenes.

DVD sales were the justification that Comedy Central needed... they were the proof that the creator's faith in Futurama was justified, and the indication that a new set of episodes would also be justified both by strong sales and good viewing figures.

Comedy Central didn't "test" anything by airing the movies. They knew at this point that they wanted more Futurama, as it had become one of their strongest shows. The movies and the associated sales figures were proof of this, and it was only natural that they air them as soon as possible, since they already had the syndication rights to Futurama at this point.

They bought the rights, set the team to work, and the first Comedy Central episode, Rebirth set in motion the cycle of strong DVD sales and renewed interest in the franchise that was needed to justify the renewal of the show for yet another season after that.

Futurama is one of those shows that'll always deliver strong ratings in an appropriate timeslot, as long as it receives strong promotion. Comedy Central know this, and Fox obviously didn't realise it or didn't care.

[Reply #301 on:]

Alright, whatever....

[Reply #302 on:]

Alright, whatever....

This is an example of a completely pointless post. Around here, it's considered spam. Please stop doing that (there will be no need for you to reply to this post either, just FYI).

See this page of the manual for more information.

[Reply #303 on:]

I think that the ratings will get stronger, however. I just know that next season will be so good!

[Reply #304 on:]

I'm pretty clueless when it comes to ratings and how they're measured.  A number by itself is useless unless compared to relevent peers (much like financial statement and ratio analysis).

Would someone be able to explain to me how Futurama's ratings are doing?  I understand that the latest season has generated somewhere between 1.5M to 2.3M viewers per episode.  It sure sounds like a lot, but what it sounds like is irrelevant.

I guess my concern is that ratings wouldn't be strong enough to justify renewal after season seven.  Is Comedy Central working on a season-by-season basis to determine whether they want to renew the series?

I would sincerely appreciate if anyone can provide insight for me.

Thank you!

[Reply #305 on:]

I think it's a good average, but it probably depends on the the budget that the show has. Presumably, FOX is losing at least a little bit of money on the sale of the episodes to Comedy Central, but makes back the rest of the budget from DVD sales, syndication, etc. For Comedy Central's part, I would think they would also look at factors outside of the initial number; the same episode is run several times the week it premieres, so those ratings would presumably be of some value to them as well. And of course they would probably factor it against the ratings they get from reruns in general, since each episode adds to the "pool" of episodes that they can run whenever they want. (Of course, this is contingent on them continuing to renew the rerun rights; unlike, say, South Park, they don't own the episodes forever.)

I have to admit I always forget exactly how the Nielsen ratings work, but I'm pretty sure it's one of Comedy Central's very top-rated shows, from everything I've gathered. If I'm not mistaken, it tends to outrate The Daily Show and The Colbert Report even; I believe only South Park (which consistently got over 2 million viewers last season, for every episode, though it's far and away their biggest show and pretty much always has been) and maybe Tosh.0 really outrate it consistently, unless there's some other show I'm missing. So it would probably come down to budget, ultimately, unless the ratings really fall.

For the seasons thing, it helps to know how they're broken down. The "seasons" that make up the Volume 5 and 6 sets are actually ONE season, season six (season five is made up of the "movies"; they're split up into 16 episodes on CC and in syndication). But CC splits them into two, so for their purposes, one order of 26 episodes is two "seasons," or two years of shows. They ordered season 7, another batch of 26, before even airing the second half of season 6...so it'll be on the air through 2013, at least. We'd probably be looking to the beginning of 2013, and the ratings from the episodes this year, to know whether there might be more.

[Reply #306 on:]

I guess my concern is that ratings wouldn't be strong enough to justify renewal after season seven.  Is Comedy Central working on a season-by-season basis to determine whether they want to renew the series?

At this point, Futurama is largely driven by the merchandising machine. The show itself has become a vehicle to make people aware of the vast amounts of merch that exist for it, and to get the people who will buy the merch to look at advertisements for other things they might like to purchase.

Therefore the ratings for the program are fairly irrelevant. Advertisers and the company airing the show know that people watch it (because the Futurama products that exist are rather highly sought-after, and the DVD sales are strong). So there's a drive for people to associate their products with (ie: air their adverts during) Futurama that exists independantly of the ratings that a particular airing of a particular episode recieves.

As long as people wish to buy advertising space in between episodes of Futurama, Comedy Central have an incentive to keep ordering new episodes. As long as sales remain strong for Futurama merchandise and DVDs, it's clear that people are watching and will see those advertisements.

So there will be an eighth season ordered based not just on ratings, but on the sales of ad slots at either end and in the middle of new (and rerun) episodes. Which will be decided not just by ratings, but by the sustained strength of the brand in general. Either way, it won't be decided for a little while.

[Reply #307 on:]

DVDs aside, there really isn't a huge amount of merchandise available, and most of what is available is pretty niche. I'm sure it's at least part of Fox's equation, but probably not a huge one (other than home video). And CC wouldn't benefit much from it directly; only series they actually own like South Park would really have their renewal hopes hinging on dolls and shirts.

Ratings are important; it's just that it isn't just ONE rating per episode that necessarily matters anymore, since they rerun the show frequently. But ratings are still the main value of the show for the network that airs it.

[Reply #308 on:]

DVDs aside, there really isn't a huge amount of merchandise available, and most of what is available is pretty niche.

You're missing the point by a country mile. It's what indicates an active and obsessive fanbase because it sells and it sells well. Therefore somebody is watching the show, so advertisers want to put their adverts in the mid-episode breaks.

Since the TV station exists to sell advertising space between the programs it airs (that's how they make their money), Futurama is a good program for them to air. If they air new episodes, they can combine the marketing pull with that of new ratings and sell ad space at a premium plus they'll be adding to their stock of "episodes to air when we have nothing else to fill the space".

That's how new episodes can be ordered despite lower ratings for some shows.

[Reply #309 on:]

So let's say, even though this would never happen, the show has 1 viewer, yet makes millions in merchandise. Would it stay on the air.

[Reply #310 on:]

No. If the show's got a devoted fanbase who are buying merchandise, that is an indicator that there are a lot of people watching it. Which means that it'll command a premium when it comes to selling the advertising space associated with it.

[Reply #311 on:]

DVDs aside, there really isn't a huge amount of merchandise available, and most of what is available is pretty niche.

You're missing the point by a country mile. It's what indicates an active and obsessive fanbase because it sells and it sells well. Therefore somebody is watching the show, so advertisers want to put their adverts in the mid-episode breaks.

But the merchandising sales mean nothing if no one is actually, you know, watching the show. Ratings are still the most important thing here. ("Ratings" can include on-demand, internet streaming, DVR, etc to some extent. Though actual, on-air ratings are still generally the most important.) These wonderful fans buying merchandise could all be pirating the actual show, or waiting for DVD/Netflix to see the actual episodes, or what have you. And don't get me wrong, I'm sure that when CC shows the Futurama time slot to advertisers they probably throw in a "it gets great merchandise sales!" or something for added effect, but it's doubtful that it's really a humongous factor. It might tick the numbers up a little.

I think the merchandise is still fairly niche. You don't see a whole lot of it in stores even now, which is telling. Certain things sell reasonably well to diehard fans willing to pay for them (and most of these things are online), but it's not a huge phenomenon. It's not The Simpsons or Family Guy. Those shows would probably have more of their fortunes hinging on the merchandising, especially given that network that airs them and the studio that produces them are part of the same parent company.

[Reply #312 on:]

totalnerdunk and DotheBartman, I appreciate the insight on this topic (even though it looks like you two disagree with eachother ).  This information DOES indeed help me answer my question.

In theory, I guess the show can continue to run in perpetuity so long as it continues to be a money maker.  Judging from the ratings the syndicated, re-run episodes receive... I can imagine (at least, hope!) that this money-making trend will continue.

[Reply #313 on:]

DVDs aside, there really isn't a huge amount of merchandise available, and most of what is available is pretty niche.

You're missing the point by a country mile. It's what indicates an active and obsessive fanbase because it sells and it sells well. Therefore somebody is watching the show, so advertisers want to put their adverts in the mid-episode breaks.

But the merchandising sales mean nothing if no one is actually, you know, watching the show. Ratings are still the most important thing here.

Ratings are based on information submitted by a percentage of households that have the ability to view the show and are often not representative. Ad slots are usually sold on other factors, and the things that companies look at when buying ad space are:

• Brand strength (how well known something is, how well it sells).
• Target demographic (are the people who watch it likely to buy whatever you're selling?)
• Cost of advertising slot (this is where ratings might be used).

Ratings are no longer as important as they used to be. The indication that people are watching a show is now whether the associated merchandise has strong sales and/or whether the show is well-known and embedded in the popular conciousness to at least some extent.

The big networks use ratings to justify timeslots, to decide what an ad slot costs, and whether the show will be continued. Smaller networks like CC look at more than just the ratings, because they're already catering to more "niche" markets, and their ability to make money depends on more than just whether they are reaching a percentage of the possible viewers with their programme - they tend to target fanbases more than percentages of the market.

[Reply #314 on:]

I get what you're saying, but at this stage, ratings are still the main factor in this. When a show is officially cancelled, the ratings are generally cited as the reason, even on cable. Though imperfect (as it always has been), it's still the most reliable metric unless the show is so crazy successful in merchandising sales that they know something else is up with it. And even then, that would mainly motivate networks that actually own the show, which doesn't apply to Futurama. (It could potentially motivate Fox to sell new episodes to CC at a lower cost, should the network be waffling on whether they want new shows. The same would be true if the show was doing exceptionally well in syndication, and Fox wanted to keep that going badly enough; a few shows have been given extra seasons that way, and it's looking like "Community" is hinging its renewal hopes on Sony wanting badly enough to strike a deal with NBC and keep it going for enough episodes that they can syndicate it.)

Futurama does well with merchandising, etc now...but it's just not THAT big. You don't go into stores and see t-shirts everywhere. Even with demographics, the main way that CC can determine if they're getting the demographics they're looking for is ratings; there's not really any other way unless they can somehow determine who exactly is buying all those DVDs and talking Bender dolls.

Of course, actual Nielsen ratings are gradually losing their importance, given the rise of DVRs, Hulu, On Demand, etc. The Nielsens are still the most important, but no doubt they're looking at other metrics too. However, viewership would still be a larger factor than anything else, especially in cases (such as merchandising) where the network broadcasting the show doesn't actually benefit directly from the extra stuff.



....um, that said FuturamIMAfan, as I understand it, when the show first came back Comedy Central was quite pleased with the ratings and was even boasting about it in press releases and so forth (and people from the show, such as David Cohen, have been quoted as saying that the executives were going to them at network functions and telling them how happy they were with the ratings). Again, it's one of their top-rated shows, so I don't think there's too much cause for alarm at this point. Hell, they apparently keep renewing Ugly Americans, and in comparison that show's ratings are in the toilet.

[Reply #315 on:]

The Nielsens are still the most important, but no doubt they're looking at other metrics too. However, viewership would still be a larger factor than anything else, especially in cases (such as merchandising) where the network broadcasting the show doesn't actually benefit directly from the extra stuff.

The point is that the ratings are not the most reliable indication of viewership, and are used as a secondary measure to judge potential exposure by advertisers. They're still a factor in the cost of the ad slot, but there are other ways to tell how many people are watching your show. One of those is to look at the sales of DVDs, merchandising, and things like current trends on twitter, google, etc. Advertisers will always pay for slots that fit in between or in the middle of a show that's doing well in this regard. As long as the advertisers continue to pay for these slots, the show will remain on the air until the cost of producing an episode outweighs the revenue that will be pulled in from those ad slots over a certain period (usually the first two or three times that the network air it). Futurama is cheap, as TV shows go, to produce. It's a high-end animation, but as an animation is half the cost or less of an episode of something like Two and a Half Men or Frasier.

If the show starts to become unprofitable for the network, then they'll look at moving it to another timeslot to allow something else to take its place, and hopefully earn more money for those ad slots. They'll then look at making the show "work harder" for them, and this is where the ratings are most valuable as a tool for deciding whether a show will stay on the air. CC is not FOX. They don't work on pure numbers - they need to look at what's profitable, what they expect to stay profitable, and the selling points of a show to potential advertisers and investors.

Ratings are not God anymore. The show is not on FOX, it's on a much smaller network who rely as much on their advertisers liking a particular show as they do on setting the prices based on ratings that the show pulls in. Different rules apply when you move from the world that FOX operates in to the one that CC operates in. They don't respond in the same way to the same indicators - their operating strategies are in fact fundamentally different due to their content, advertising base, viewership, and overall focus being different.

[Reply #316 on:]

RELEVANT FIGURES:

• "Futurama" posted a 1.4 adults 18-49 rating and averaged 2.3 million total viewers across its summer season and finished as the #2 program in cable on Thursday nights among men 18-34 and men 18-24, behind only "Jersey Shore."

http://www.comedycentral.com/press/press_releases/2011/122011-2011-ratings-release.jhtml

To put this in some context, it averaged the same as The Daily Show (and higher than Colbert) in total viewers, and just a point below "Workaholics," which was recently renewed for another season. Only South Park and Tosh.0 are doing significantly better.

I don't think we need to worry too much.

[Reply #317 on:]

RELEVANT FIGURES:

• "Futurama" posted a 1.4 adults 18-49 rating and averaged 2.3 million total viewers across its summer season and finished as the #2 program in cable on Thursday nights among men 18-34 and men 18-24, behind only "Jersey Shore."

http://www.comedycentral.com/press/press_releases/2011/122011-2011-ratings-release.jhtml

To put this in some context, it averaged the same as The Daily Show (and higher than Colbert) in total viewers, and just a point below "Workaholics," which was recently renewed for another season. Only South Park and Tosh.0 are doing significantly better.

I don't think we need to worry too much.

Thanks for putting it into context.  Let's hope the show continues to make advertisers money and maintain (even surpass) current viewer ratings!

[Reply #318 on:]

How does Stewart get more viewers than Colbert? The Report is borderline genious. Good to see Futurama's continued success, some day it might be as good a show as Jersey Shore

[Reply #319 on:]

It could be the time slot, maybe. I always thought Colbert was more popular than Stewart.