While not nearly as popular with females 12-34, MTV’s airing of the “The Shannara Chronicles” premiere roughly matched the show’s “Teen Wolf” lead-in among adults 18-49 and total viewers.
Per Nielsen Live+Same-Day cable data, the heavily hyped “Shannara” launch drew a 0.48 adults 18-49 rating and 1.031 million total viewers. Solid against the recently deflated standard for MTV’s scripted programming (and presumably enough for a renewal if they hold moving forward), the numbers are surely underwhelming given the hype.
(A TV Land simulcast added a 0.06 adults 18-49 rating and 248,000 total viewers, while concurrent airings on MTV2 and TeenNick respectively contributed a 0.03 with 115,000 and a 0.02 with 117,000)
On MTV, “Shannara” led out of the midseason “Teen Wolf” premiere, which posted a 0.46 adults 18-49 rating and reached 1.112 million total viewers. Weak based on the show’s historical standard, the numbers top the 0.44 rating and 958,000 viewership mark posted by the summer 2015 finale.
As noted, the veteran “Teen Wolf” fared considerably better with the aforementioned females 12-34 demographic; it drew a 1.00, while the MTV broadcast of “Shannara” posted a 0.49.
“Teen Wolf” also topped MTV’s “Shannara” airing in adults 18-34, females 18-49 and males 12-34.
“Shannara,” on the other hand, posted stronger marks with males 18-49, adults 25-54, and viewers over the age of 50.