Cancellation is far from imminent or even yet a real possibility, but NBC’s “The Event” is not showing long-term promise in the ratings department.
The serialized drama dropped another 17% in the ratings this week, posting a 2.4 adults 18-49 demographic for episode three. Total viewership was down to 7.46 million viewers.
Television analysts were somewhat forgiving of last week’s 20% decline due to the fact that heavily-hyped shows almost always bleed from their premieres. Moreover, at a 2.9 rating in the demo, it was not as if “The Event” had suddenly become a weak link for the struggling NBC.
This week’s massive drop is more alarming. A 2.4 rating is nothing to celebrate regardless, and the fact that the show seems to be on a ratings free fall is even more discouraging. Serialized dramas require a true viewer commitment, and it is thus quite difficult for a series of the sort to make significant ratings gains over the course of the season (so there is little hope of the show suddenly jumping back above a 3.0). The focus now is on finding the bottom.
The buffer preventing this show from entering “failure” territory is rapidly shrinking; in order to demonstrate long-term value (beyond a full first season), the show immediately needs to stabilize.
— Things are even worse for “The Event”‘s Monday lead-in and lead-out series. 8PM veteran “Chuck” continues to baffle regarding its presence in the lineup; it averaged a mere 1.9 with 5.36 million viewers. Freshman 10PM series “Chase” dropped all the way to a 1.7 with 5.83 million viewers. It seems safe to conclude that “Chase” will not be receiving a second season from the peacock.