Based on the overnight metered market ratings, Tuesday’s ratings for “Glee” will be down significantly from the comparable episode last season. That episode, the Britney Spears tribute hour, delivered a high mark in the adults 18-49 demographic and gave the impression that “Glee” was invincible.
The ongoing decline in “Glee” ratings is telling and significant, but comparisons to last year’s number are not fair. At the time, “Glee” was riding a lot of buzz from those who heard great things about season one, and the Britney Spears episode added broader appeal at a time when interest in “Glee” was already high.
Ratings for subsequent episodes immediately declined, and while the quality of early season two episodes played a part in that, it is unlikely that “Glee” was ever going to stay in the ratings range it delivered for its first two season two episodes. Those episodes were getting significant curiosity inflation.
With that in mind, reports that “Glee” fell by more than 30% in the year-to-year overnights, dropping to a 6.3 metered market household number, are making an unfair comparison.
Still, the ongoing decline is noteworthy–at these numbers, “Glee” can no longer claim itself as a phenomenon.
(Update: The show posted a 3.6 adults 18-49 rating with 8.3 million viewers)
— In other ratings news, FOX’s freshman lead-out “New Girl” looks to have held as well as could be expected. It fell from a 7.4 to 6.3, a decline of just under 15%. Though non-trivial and potentially enough to already remove the ‘big-time-hit’ stauts from the new show once the fast nationals come in, that drop is not terrible for a new series that had a wide sampling.
(Update: The fast nationals brought even better news for “New Girl.” The show only fell to a 4.4 adults 18-49 rating, a decline of less than 10% from its premiere fast nationals number. That is a huge victory for FOX and a very good sign for the new comedy. Viewership was a healthy 9.3 million).
Obviously, the show is going to need to stabilize, but it still has room to fall before anyone need worry.