Free Republic

It's a widely accepted piece of TV ratings dogma that same-day numbers represent a starting point, not the complete picture for a given show. What's also true, however, is that in 2018-19, the starting point for nearly every returning broadcast series retreated from the previous season. In fact, only 10 percent (10 of 102) of veteran series increased or held steady with their same-day adults 18-49 rating from the 2017-18 season. The Hollywood Reporter's comparison includes same-day ratings for all original episodes of series that aired more than one episode in the 2018-19 season, including those coded as specials. Only...

We’re more than halfway through the summer and with the midterm elections drawing closer, the liberal media have been desperate to continue the Democratic Party’s “blue wave” narrative despite a booming economy and improving poll numbers. And during Sunday’s This Week on ABC, host Martha Raddatz wondered how the Democrats planned to “counter” the voters who approved of the conservative things President Trump had done for the country. Before Raddatz’s asked her ridiculous question, Washington Post national correspondent Mary Jordan spoke about how many voters had a dual attitude when it came to President Trump. “[T]hey like Trump, but as...

How bad is network television getting already this summer? The answer: the worst it has ever been, at least among those younger viewers three of the networks are always saying they are most avid to reach. Last week, the four networks performed abysmally across the board in viewers between the ages of 18 and 49, posting the lowest combined rating in that category ever for the four broadcast networks. As bad as the total number was, ABC won the most dubious achievement award. ABC’s 18-49 rating of a 1.1 was the worst performance ever for that network. Once before, last...