Some series are seeing season finales that have pulled lower ratings than that of their finales of the previous year – and even, in some cases, lower than the previous week’s airing. Finales are typically the best-rated shows of the year, writes MediaPost.
Fox’s “24” series ender pulled a 2.8 rating/8 share, down from a 2.9 the week before, while some of Fox’s comedy finales also nabbed lower ratings than the previous week. On NBC, “Chuck” slipped to a 1.8/5, its season-low, while “Law & Order” slipped to a 1.9/5.
The series finale of ABC’s “Lost” pulled its biggest audience since February of 2008, with 13.6 million viewers, but the audience was smaller than expected, writes USA Today. The network’s “Grey’s Anatomy” closer pulled the show’s biggest audience since October, but at 15.2 million, was down from last season’s ender.
Fox’s “House” pulled 4.3/12, with 11.1 million viewers, down from last season’s closer. Still, the numbers from the doc drama, along with big help from “American Idol,” “Glee,” and MLB Baseball, helped Fox stay ahead of the other networks. So far this season, Fox has a double-digit lead over the next-highest network, and is ahead of the third- and fourth-most-popular networks by 33%, writes TV Business Report.
The CW’s “One Tree Hill” and “Gossip Girl,” finales each with 2 million viewers, were also below last year’s finales.