Defiance Ratings Continued.

[Myria]

That would imply that first episode was watched only by people in age category 18-49. Something is off here.

It's a tad more complicated than that.

To quote Wikipedia again:

The most commonly cited Nielsen results are reported in two measurements: ratings points and share, usually reported as: "ratings points/share". As of August 27, 2012, there are an estimated 114.2 million television households in the United States, a drop of nearly 500,000 from the previous year. A single national ratings point represents one percent of the total number, or 1,142,000 households for the 2012–13 season. Nielsen re-estimates the number of TV-equipped households each August for the upcoming television season.

Assuming I understand things correctly, and it is a rather odd system, the first episode of Defiance was watched by 1% of the total possible US Adult 18-49 TV-watching demographic.

Share numbers, which don't appear to be available for cable shows (possibly they're too low to bother, I dunno), would represent the percentage of TVs that were actually on (rather than the estimated total) and were tuned to that show.

[Hithlum]

Ah ok, that makes sense then, thank you.

[Leoben]

oops misread....bump

[kdalts]

Ratings are useless... there is no way to tell how many people watch or listen to programs. Like most folks I switch from channel to channel all the time and no one ever asked me what I watch.

Radio does my head in... smart arse DJ's going on about their ratings.... I mute them when they are talking stupid and or switch channel... how the f*** do they know how many people are listening to their station - especially from a car.

Rant over about ratings...

Defiance TV series and game are the biggest let down for me ever. The TV series is another cheap and cheesey script with poor actors, pathetic story lines and hopeless graphics. There seems to be a never ending stream of these 2nd rate crap programs now. Aliens disguised by adding some tattoo, ridges into their forehead, nose rings and speak english. I see more alien looking people walking down our average high street.

lol

[treadingwater]

Saying Defiance has poor actors just shows you're an idiot. There are some extremely accomplished actors/actresses on Defiance with very lengthy resumes. This is why you have to take fan "reviews" with a grain of salt on the net. They're usually made by idiots who know nothing, but are extremely opinionated in their ignorance.

Nice to see Defiance jump back up in viewership. 1.9/6 is very good for SyFy these days considering how much self-inflicted damage the channel has done.

[alred]

Is this just US ratings? Or Defiance just a US show? I thought SyFy had a deal with Canadian broadcasting. It seems the show a lot of Canadian SyFy shows.

Reason I ask is because a BBCA show Orphan Black had low US ratings, but elsewhere it's ratings were good enough to get a second season. I know Defiance has already been green lighted for a second season.

[Fancypants]

Defiance TV series and game are the biggest let down for me ever. The TV series is another cheap and cheesey script with poor actors, pathetic story lines and hopeless graphics. There seems to be a never ending stream of these 2nd rate crap programs now. Aliens disguised by adding some tattoo, ridges into their forehead, nose rings and speak english. I see more alien looking people walking down our average high street.

I'd have to agree here, though not in total.

There are several actors on the show that have a high amount of laudable acting credits. Unfortunately, those are the ones with the most uninteresting roles but the biggest.

The ex-Mayor's role is very boring because she's not in them enough so that's one actor who only gets a show or two of shine. The current mayor is a pretty boring actress.. she's hot, but boring in this role. As over the top as Captain Janeway is from Star Trek, that type would have been better (a fiery type) if they could find it in a younger version. This mayor just doesn't have the hook to make you care about her or think she can do anything. Mealy mouth comes to mind.

The lawkeeper has moments, but I'm not sure if it's his writing that's making him appear silly half the time or him as an actor. He always seems a step behind everyone else in many cases then.. poof!.. he's standing there with a gun behind someone's head. Not very believable.

The best actor in the series is Datak... hands down. Second best is the wildgirl. The rest of the cast could be killed off and other actors brought in. Conversely, you see a show like Game of Thrones with plenty of actors that haven't done much or anything big, and they are pulling it off each and every week.

That shows to me that not only the acting in bad in Defiance, but the writing is far worse. But I honestly didn't expect much from SyFy.. it's.. SyFy. Anyone looking at the whole of their work shouldn't be shocked. I'm far more shocked at Trion putting out this garbage heap of a game based on what they did with Rift. (yeah I know it's different teams, but it's still TRION)

[Myria]

Ratings are useless... there is no way to tell how many people watch or listen to programs.

It really doesn't matter what you or I think of ratings, what matters is what advertisers think of ratings as that is what determines if a show lives or dies. In that sense, ratings are anything but useless.

Beyond that, honestly the exact method used to gather them and whatever flaws there may be with that, as long as it is consistent across the board it really doesn't matter. There isn't any way to get an exact measure of how many people are watching and paying attention, a fact of which I'm quite sure they're well aware. I suspect they do get a decent estimate that is relatively consistent across the board, however, and that's all they need or think they have.

[Myria]

Is this just US ratings?

As far as I'm aware (note, I'm by no means knowledgeable on the subject of ratings, nor do I even watch much of any television in general or Defiance in particular, but I have tried to educate myself a little on the subject out of curiosity over the trajectory of this particular show) these are strictly US ratings.

While I'm sure SyFy will take into account whatever deals they have with other networks, foreign and domestic, and the monies those deals bring into their coffers, in the end I expect Defiance's ultimate fate will be decided by its US ratings. That is, after all, where SyFy's bread and butter is.