In a press release issued earlier this week, USA Network touted the significant extent to which time-shifted viewing boosted the modest live+same-day marks for its heavily hyped new series “Dig.”
USA better hope for another sizable boost this week; the first-run broadcast of Thursday’s “Dig” endured week-to-week losses from last week’s already disappointing adults 18-49 and total viewership numbers.
“Dig” followed last Thursday’s premiere performance with a markedly softer 0.42 adults 18-49 rating and 1.45 million viewers. Last week’s premiere drew a 0.56 with 1.83 million viewers.
Live+same-day viewership remains a pivotal benchmark, and it is one for which “Dig” is not off to a solid start.
The strong DVR uptick does, however, allow USA to accurately declare that the audience’s interest exceeds its premiere night commitment.
With three days of DVR usage included, the viewership total for last week’s first-run broadcast reached 3.8 million. The inclusion of encores (and three days of DVR usage for those encores) brought the gross total to 5.8 million.
