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Posted on May 18th, 2009 by Stewart Hauser
A further investigation of individual programs supports the finding that program loyalty is the exception, not the rule. We selected a number of top programs from broadcast and cable networks and calculated a Loyalty Score for each program. A program’s Loyalty Score is defined as the percentage of viewers who watched at least two episodes of the most recent season of the show. Hence, a high Loyalty Score means that a large number of a program’s viewers tuned in to at least two episodes of the program during the season.
Loyalty varies significantly across shows. FOX’s American Idol has the most loyal audience in the sample, with 65% of viewers watching at least two episodes this season. On the other end of the spectrum, just 26% of Rescue Me (FX) viewers watched at least two episodes of the show. The average Loyalty Score in the sample was 46%, indicating that fewer half of viewers watched a given show more than once.
In other words, even for a show like American Idol with a perceived loyal and devoted following, over a third of the rating on a given night is driven by viewers who will not return for any additional episodes. For less popular shows, the phenomenon is even more extreme. Three-quarters of Rescue Me viewers, and two-thirds of Mad Men (AMC) viewers, watched exactly one episode this season. As indicated in the previous loyalty post, these one-time viewers have attention that is “for sale” and are ideal targets of promotion.
Data from TNS Media Research’s InfoSysTV. Time period: First episode of the show’s current season (or most recent season if the show is not running currently) through February 2009, except for Rescue Me, where time period is the first five episodes of the season that started in April 2009. Reruns are not factored into the analysis.
Syndicators have talked for years about the long term loyalty of stripped programs’ viewers. Shows like Wheel, Jeop, Oprah and Seinfeld have ratings comparable to Prime Time, but viewers that tune in 2x per week.
A Question: does the study you note take into account DVR viewership of those same programs?
Thanks, Ken. Interesting point about Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy!, and similar shows–I’m a lifelong fan of Jeopardy! and it does seem reasonable that fans of these shows would be more loyal than Primetime audiences.
The loyalty study was a preliminary investigation and focused on linear viewership, though it would be interesting to consider DVR viewership as well and whether DVR viewership varies across otherwise similar shows.