ABC’s freshman “Once Upon a Time” is hardly in danger and actually remains a strong performer at this point, but it has definitely lost some of the magic displayed in its first few weeks.
“Once” fell to a 2.9 adults 18-49 rating with 8.9 million viewers, which put it in last place behind the major networks. Granted, competition was steep–the show faced the beginning of a huge NFL game between the Cowboys and Giants on NBC, a football-overrun-fueled pairing of “60 Minutes” and the season finale of “The Amazing Race” on CBS and FOX’s veteran “The Simpsons”–but interest in the show still appears to have faded, and a full rebound to premiere levels is highly-unlikely.
Plus, it’s not like the competition was so vastly different from what “Once” usually faces, and it’s not likely the competition will completely disappear in 2012.
At this point, “Once” is down 25% in the demo from its initial numbers.