December Update: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. continues to rate very well and we expect a season 2 announcement soon (our money is on news in January). The last two episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. have increased in the overnight ratings with the most recent episode “Repairs” rating as the second highest episode of the season in both total viewers and in the 18-49 demographic.
(Originally posted Nov 13, 2013)
It’s ratings time again and we’re happy to report that in the latest DVR+7 figures to be released from the episode “Eye-Spy” Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. gained a massive 74% increase, and achieved the 4th largest gain (1.7 points) of all shows throughout that week. S.H.I.E.L.D. is continuing to achieve excellent results in the male demographics, an area in which ABC has always lacked in the past and something they were hoping to address with S.H.I.E.L.D.
ABC reports that last week S.H.I.E.L.D. spiked 19% from the previous episode in Men 18-34 to achieve a 5-Week High in this much desired and hard to attract demographic.
Last week finance site The Motley Fool reported on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s success pointing out that S.H.I.E.L.D. is currently ranked number two in broadcast entertainment behind only The Big Bang Theory when it comes to the male demographic:
However, its sheer numbers can only go so far, and that’s why “overall” ratings can be a tad deceiving. When you dig deeper, there are several reasons Disney is happy to have Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on its side.
First, consider the fact that last week’s episode marked the sixth consecutive time Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has ranked as Tuesday’s number-one show in the key men’s 18 to 49 year-old demographic. In fact, season-to-date, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is also currently ranked the number two overall broadcast entertainment series in men 18-49, behind only CBS’ long-standing favorite, The Big Bang Theory.
Executive Producer Jeph Loeb noted in an podcast released by Word Balloon yesterday that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. opened up against the biggest shows in both reality television and drama on Tuesday nights and made a point of saying delayed viewing via DVR still counts and once you add in those numbers the show is “gigantic”. The most important thing he says when discussing the ratings is “all of that is very secondary” he said “one of the things we’re trying to do is try and do the best job you can and hope folks enjoy it, and folks seem to be and that’s very cool.”
Last night’s episode “The Hub” achieved a 2.2 in the 18-49 demographic and reached 6.63 million viewers overall (there’s a good chance S.H.I.E.L.D. will increase when the final adjustments are released later today).
Here are the numbers for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. over the past 7 episodes including the +3 and +7 DVR figures where available (note, these numbers do not include repeat airings or online viewing.)
| Overnight | Live + 3 | Live + 7 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HH Share | 18-49 Share | Total Viewers (mil) | Rank | 18-49 | up by | mil | 18-49 | up by | mil | |||||
| Date | Episode Title | % | Initial | Final | Initial | Final | 18-49 | mil | ||||||
| Sep 24 | Pilot | 7.7 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 11.90 | 12.12 | 7 | 13 | 6.4 | 15.8 | 7.0 | 49% | 17.01 | |
| Oct 1 | 0-8-4 | 5.6 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 8.4 | 8.66 | 14 | - | 4.92 | 51% | 12.07 | 5.4 | 64% | 13.17 |
| Oct 8 | The Asset | 5.1 | 2.8 | 2.9 | 7.8 | 7.87 | 12 | - | 4.8 | 68% | 12.01 | |||
| Oct 15 | Eye-Spy | 5.1 | 2.7 | 2.8 | 7.7 | 7.85 | 15 | 4.4 | 74% | 11.16 | ||||
| Oct 22 | The Girl in the Flower Dress | 5.1 | 2.6 | 2.7 | 7.13 | 7.39 | 19 | |||||||
| Nov 4 | F.Z.Z.T. | 4.5 | 2.5 | 7.03 | 19 | |||||||||
| Nov 11 | The Hub | 4.2 | 2.2 | 6.63 | ||||||||||
The following comparisons with other 8pm shows are based on intial numbers, not finals (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. always ticks up in the finals)
| Total Viewers | Ep 1 | Ep 2 | Ep 3 | Ep 4 | Ep 5 | Ep 6 | Ep 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. | 11.9 | 8.4 | 7.79 | 7.68 | 7.13 | 7.03 | 6.63 |
| The Voice / Biggest Loser | 14.14 | 14.2 | 10.03 | 7.00 | 6.64 | 6.62 | 6.30 |
| NCIS | 19.47 | 19.33 | 17.87 | 18.43 | 18.58 | 18.98 | 19.91 |
| 18-49 Demographic | Ep 1 | Ep 2 | Ep 3 | Ep 4 | Ep 5 | Ep 6 | Ep 7 |
| Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. | 4.6 | 3.1 | 2.8 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 2.2 |
| The Voice / Biggest Loser | 4.6 | 4.4 | 2.9 | 2.2 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 1.8 |
| NCIS | 3.4 | 3.4 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 2.9 |
About Director E
That’s so delusional…
I’m not so sure about the show anymore…
2 points, this time… At the episode 15? how many more? buh…I’m so upset…
i love this show but it’s same day 18-49 ratings are dropping. younger viewers have other things to do and don’t watch live television as older people who are at home and have nothing better to do. the only thing that will save this show are the added dvr ratings.
It does not change the fact that the ratings are dropping. I only hope they clear up Coulsons storyline before the last episode this season in case they don’t get renewed for another year.
Honestly, I’m in a similar mindset as HaloHawk, since Live+SD have dropped into the low 2′s. Do I think it’ll be cancelled? Not yet, but it’s making me jittery about a second season. As long as SHIELD is competing with NCIS in L+3 ratings, which we won’t see but can infer (statistically) from L+7, we should be okay. It should say something, though, that ABC’s ratings press release for Tuesday night didn’t focus on the show though, unlike every other one.
I appreciate the positive tone on this article and obviously, we still have about 15 eps in the future and from the rating, it is still good for ABC, especially compared to other show with much lower rating but still continue for 38572w93 season. But..the rating is dropping every week and that’s unhealthy. I notice with other shows, the ratings are sometimes increasing and decreasing, which is normal, as long as the rating doesn’t drop all the time, which is happening with AoS right now. Personally, I think the eps is getting better each week but I guess that’s not enough for many ppl. Myb they get disappointed with previous eps, ‘give’ up after watching several eps, or leave after they realise the show won’t give something they really want (superheroes, darker SHIELD, epic explosion, etc), there are many possibility. I will wait for the next week rating. If the rating increases, that’s good sign that the show is on the right track and thing come back to normal again.