American Crime Story / FX Networks
In terms of the live+same-day ratings, FX’s “The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” endured yet another week-over-week decline.
According to national live+same-day data posted by Showbuzz, this week’s “Versace” drew a 0.30 adults 18-49 rating and averaged 0.98 million overall viewers.
Last week’s broadcast drew a 0.39 in the demo and 1.26 million in overall viewership.
Those numbers narrowly trailed those of the previous week’s episode, which had fallen sharply from the January 17 premiere.
Declines are not uncommon for cable series during the first few weeks of their season. The critically acclaimed first season of “American Crime Story,” as an example, suffered week-to-week losses until hitting episode six.
Granted, the “OJ Simpson” iteration of “American Crime Story” drew a far stronger initial audience than the current “Versace” season. The declines have therefore brought the current season into considerably less impressive territory.
While “The People v. OJ Simpson” routinely ranked as the top cable original, this week’s “Versace” placed 17th among Wednesday cable shows in the adults 18-49 demographic.
The numbers are still not terrible for a cable drama. They, moreover, only tell part of the story. Cognizant of modern viewership habits, FX publicly touts data that incorporates delayed, multi-platform viewing as more relevant than linear, live+same-day data.
On the other hand, it is not as if DVR is boosting “Versace” viewership to the levels attained by “OJ.” This is clearly a weak performer in comparison to that season, as well as any season of fellow Ryan Murphy franchise “American Horror Story.”