The Challenge: Rivals - Ratings

[QUOTE=Nightwolf;271801]Yeah fixed it once they did too. But now I have to ask: The ratings appear to have been much better than usual for the last few episodes, as with the last episode having the best rating since the Duel 2 final, but we have yet to hear anything. Do you think the show was doomed from the get go or that they're waiting until the season is over to decide on anything since they don't have to work on a new challenge for a while either way?[/QUOTE] No it was not doomed. Production told the Rivals cast that they needed a great season to get renewed. I'm not sure a good season is "great" but they did a lot of things right. And, the are vague rumors of planning for future challenge. Even without any announcement of renewal, challenge planning is a smart thing for MTV to buy from BMP. I don't get caught up in the numbers hype, but when Jersey Shore beats some of the broadcast network results, I have to wonder why MTV can't retain some of that "Shore" audience for the challenge. While there can be a number of good reasons for it, overall, I'm not convinced there is 1) any new audience to find within the demographic, or 2) any realistic way to recapture the lost audience, given the way recent seasons have been cast and produced. JMO, of course.

V1Man, you're probably the only one who could answer this question. Do the ratings take into account televisions that were tuned into the show for the first twenty minutes only? There had to be some people who stopped watching as soon as CT left.

[QUOTE=KingofCrash;271813]V1Man, you're probably the only one who could answer this question. Do the ratings take into account televisions that were tuned into the show for the first twenty minutes only? There had to be some people who stopped watching as soon as CT left.[/QUOTE] Actually, it is a great question for "CastAStone," who has worked in advertising where the numbers drive the money. I've been a ratings consumer in the past, but only at the margins. It just costs too much for the data they don't release to places like tvbythenumbers.com The Nielsen system is capable of knowing everything about your viewing habits -- Everything! If you pay enough, they will tell you everything.

1.2...man that just seems wrong. Can't believe the after shows pull that many viewers. This episode had the most hype/anticipation of any. Twitter was blowing up, forums were on fire, everything and the show dropped. *SMH* The tv business is rough I'll tell ya that!

[QUOTE=jace89;271640]Rivals numbers are okay, but in the back of mtvs mind they have to be worried. You basically had to have the perfect cast in order to get average ratings.. [B]The Fresh Meat 2 cast/ postRW22 personalities are not interesting enough to lead future challenges like KEJ and Wes did.[/B] The challenge future depends on what happens to the Jersey Shore. Those 2-3 JS spinoffs plus a INEVITABLE reboot/sequel could kill of the challenge. MTV schedule could look like this Mondays 10pm scripted/jeff tremaine show Tuesdays 10pm Teen Mom/16 Wednesday 10pm Jersey Shore/Spinoff Thursdays Jersey Shore Fridays 10pm animation[/QUOTE] I'm sorry but that is BS. I think they're plenty of people from newer seasons who can lead the challenges. They just haven't been given a chance to shine. And Honestly JEK and Wes aren't all that interesting. Ever since those Idiots took over the challenges have gone to crap.

[QUOTE=KingofCrash;271813]V1Man, you're probably the only one who could answer this question. Do the ratings take into account televisions that were tuned into the show for the first twenty minutes only? There had to be some people who stopped watching as soon as CT left.[/QUOTE] I don't have a Nielsen manual here on my couch so I can't remember the specifics. Your hypothetical example (who we'll call "Shlaurel") only was watching for CT. Shlaurel only watched for 20 Minutes. She will either count as 1/4th or 1/3rd of a viewer, I can't recall which. Here's why: Each 15 minute rating block is judged independently and then averaged for the hourly number. Shlaurel watched the whole first 15 minute block. Therefore, she is at least 1/4th of a viewer. She only watched 5 minutes, or 1/3rd, of the second 15 minute block (1/12th of the total program). What I can't remember is whether she counts as 1/3 of a viewer in the second 15 minutes or not at all since she watched less than half of that 15 minutes. I think its the first (she counts as 1/3 of a viewer for the second 15 minutes), but I'm not sure. If its the first method, she counts as 1/3 viewer. If its the second, she counts as 1/4th viewer. If Nielsen didn't account for partial viewers, many sporting events, and in particular NASCAR races, would have incredibly tiny ratings because the numbers can as much as triple from the start of the event to the end (who wants to watch 500 miles when the exciting part is the last 15 minutes?).

Since A&F is offering the Jersey Shore money not to wear its clothes, I am perplexed why BMP goes to the trouble to get approval for all brands to be on TV if it isn't mandatory with MTV. JS's higher ratings than RW/Challenges but worse reputation makes me wonder if MTV even cares about the quality of its shows just so they bring in ratings.

[QUOTE=FishHooks;271925]Since A&F is offering the Jersey Shore money not to wear its clothes, I am perplexed why BMP goes to the trouble to get approval for all brands to be on TV if it isn't mandatory with MTV. JS's higher ratings than RW/Challenges but worse reputation makes me wonder if MTV even cares about the quality of its shows just so they bring in ratings.[/QUOTE] If that's the case MTV should take a good look at what happened to VH1 after the "Megan Wants A Millionaire" fiasco. Trash TV always comes with a price

Comparing ratings for the past 4 challenges with spreadsheets and charts. [url=http://vevmo.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=11453][img]http://vevmo.com/imagehosting/2644e52a77dac1f0.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://vevmo.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=11454][img]http://vevmo.com/imagehosting/2644e52a788e461b.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://vevmo.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=11455][img]http://vevmo.com/imagehosting/2644e52a79808f47.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://vevmo.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=11456][img]http://vevmo.com/imagehosting/2644e52a7a94b693.jpg[/img][/url]

[url=http://vevmo.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=11457][img]http://vevmo.com/imagehosting/2644e52a7e6c07df.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://vevmo.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=11458][img]http://vevmo.com/imagehosting/2644e52a7ef931b3.jpg[/img][/url] The point of this is to show the growth of Rivals from the past few challenges and how well it is doing.

BoSoxMole, very nicely done. The only thing missing is that the only demo really relevant to MTV's decision-making process, given the network's policy, is the 12-34 demo. The 34-49 age group inclusion only serves to **** off the execs at VH1 which exists to exploit that demographic. I know you can only work with the numbers available to you, so again, well done.

That is an excellent post mole! I had no idea Fresh Meat II did so poorly. I hope mtv's demo numbers make things look even better. With the recent challe ge history numbers though, things look a bit more bleak to me. If MTV renewed it for 2 or 3 more seasons and the numbers went back to fresh meat lows again...... It may be worth noting that Rivals has pretty much been aired during the summer while the other shows were in fall or spring. I heard that summer ratings are generally lower although I don't know how much truth there is to that statement or how significant the ratings gap is between seasons.

Ya, I didn't have MTV's main demo but oh well.

[QUOTE=Calinks;272392]That is an excellent post mole! I had no idea Fresh Meat II did so poorly. I hope mtv's demo numbers make things look even better. With the recent challe ge history numbers though, things look a bit more bleak to me. If MTV renewed it for 2 or 3 more seasons and the numbers went back to fresh meat lows again...... It may be worth noting that Rivals has pretty much been aired during the summer while the other shows were in fall or spring. I heard that summer ratings are generally lower although I don't know how much truth there is to that statement or how significant the ratings gap is between seasons.[/QUOTE] I'm not surprised that Fresh Meat 2 had sucky ratings. Nothing Memorable happend on that challenge. IMO it's one of the most strategic seasons. But it was dull as dirt.

[QUOTE=V1man;272380]BoSoxMole, very nicely done. The only thing missing is that the only demo really relevant to MTV's decision-making process, given the network's policy, is the 12-34 demo. The 34-49 age group inclusion only serves to **** off the execs at VH1 which exists to exploit that demographic. I know you can only work with the numbers available to you, so again, well done.[/QUOTE] Well we do know that it is: [QUOTE]averaging a 1.6 rating, up +14% from last season. “The Challenge: Rivals” is Wednesday’s #1 original cable series with P12-34 and averages over 1.7 million total viewers each week.[/QUOTE] Plus the Aug 10 episode: [QUOTE]Last night MTV drew the largest P12-34 audience of any cable network during the 10 PM hour thanks to “The Challenge: Rivals,” which posted a season-best 2.0 P12-34 rating. Over two million total viewers tuned in to last night’s episode, making it the most-watched “Challenge” telecast in more than two years.[/QUOTE] [url=http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/08/11/mtvs-the-challenge-rivals-delivers-its-largest-audience-in-more-than-two-years/100288/]MTV’s “The Challenge: Rivals” Delivers Its Largest Audience In More Than Two Years - Ratings | TVbytheNumbers[/url] I'll try and see if I can track down the past season numbers or averages

Good luck with that. I couldn't find anything.

[QUOTE=Sláinte;272430]Well we do know that it is: [/QUOTE] For validity. it would be nice to have the entire set of empirical data, not just a press release with a few numbers. I believe there have been three or four press releases from MTV about the challenges since about 2008, but I've not been immediately able to find them. With those, it might be possible to graph the seasons, but nothing to the extent achieved by BoSoxMole.

[QUOTE=V1man;272491]For validity. it would be nice to have the entire set of empirical data, not just a press release with a few numbers. I believe there have been three or four press releases from MTV about the challenges since about 2008, [B]but I've need been immediately able to find them[/B]. With those, it might be possible to graph the seasons, but nothing to the extent achieved by BoSoxMole.[/QUOTE] Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like they archived those numbers ( tv rating sites I looked at). Also I am not sure what you were trying to say in the bolded sentence. While checking some old vevmo posts I also found listed averages for the Inferno 3 and Gauntlet 3 challenges (for the 12-34 key demo). It's not that informative but it’s better than nothing (imo ... credit to johan86). [url]http://vevmo.com/f187/rw-rr-the-ruins-ratings-3847/index28.html[/url] G3 averaged a 2.4 12-34 rating which was up 56% from I3 Therefore I3 averaged ~1.54 12-34 ratings Also saw that the premiere of Duel 2 was a 1.76 12-34 rating (in vevmo archives)

[QUOTE=Sláinte;272553]Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like they archived those numbers ( tv rating sites I looked at). [B]Also I am not sure what you were trying to say in the bolded sentence[/B]. While checking some old vevmo posts I also found listed averages for the Inferno 3 and Gauntlet 3 challenges (for the 12-34 key demo). It's not that informative but it’s better than nothing (imo ... credit to johan86). [url]http://vevmo.com/f187/rw-rr-the-ruins-ratings-3847/index28.html[/url] G3 averaged a 2.4 12-34 rating which was up 56% from I3 Therefore I3 averaged ~1.54 12-34 ratings Also saw that the premiere of Duel 2 was a 1.76 12-34 rating (in vevmo archives)[/QUOTE] Your bolded comment above -- That was my typo... It should read "not been immediately able to find them." (They are archived on a Lacie portable drive somewhere in the office. Unfortunately we have about 20 of them that have old data.)

[QUOTE=V1man;272581]Your bolded comment above -- That was my typo... It should read "not been immediately able to find them." (They are archived on a Lacie portable drive somewhere in the office. Unfortunately we have about 20 of them that have old data.)[/QUOTE] O okay thanks for the clarification.

When I go back and watch them all again (right now I'm on Inferno 3, so that will be a while till I get to Ruins) I want to figure out who is the biggest draw and if that is possible. I won't have the quarter numbers so I can do only so much.

Does anyone know how many viewers seasons like the Inferno, Inferno 2 and Duel got?

Why do the dumb shows like Jersey Shore get more ratings? Shows what kind of world we live in lol. Well I hope they renew the challenge and if they don't then I'll just stop watching MTV.

[QUOTE=ballinbroken;272763]Does anyone know how many viewers seasons like the Inferno, Inferno 2 and Duel got?[/QUOTE] I just know that Gauntlet 1 final mission got a 4.0 rating

[QUOTE=Josephmilan;272772]Why do the dumb shows like Jersey Shore get more ratings? Shows what kind of world we live in lol. Well I hope they renew the challenge and if they don't then I'll just stop watching MTV.[/QUOTE] AGREED!

Anybody know why MTV made the challenges less fun to go to? I understand they want people to be stressed out and stuff but shows like Real World Vegas and Jersey Shore show that people can have fun and still create crazy situations. Personally, I don't think I could handle the challenge living environment, especially because I don't really drink, seems like there is not much to look forward to beyond challenge. Maybe if they let people bring books, music, and then provided some form of controlled entertainment every week, more people would come back to the shows and perhaps more favorite which would help ratings. Hearing what I hear it just doesn't sound like a place people would really want to be and that may be stopping some of the old favorite from ever doing another show. Also, I think we would get even more hijinks if people were happier. More hijinks might bring more ratings.

[QUOTE=Calinks;272861]Anybody know why MTV made the challenges less fun to go to? I understand they want people to be stressed out and stuff but shows like Real World Vegas and Jersey Shore show that people can have fun and still create crazy situations. Personally, I don't think I could handle the challenge living environment, especially because I don't really drink, seems like there is not much to look forward to beyond challenge. Maybe if they let people bring books, music, and then provided some form of controlled entertainment every week, more people would come back to the shows and perhaps more favorite which would help ratings. Hearing what I hear it just doesn't sound like a place people would really want to be and that may be stopping some of the old favorite from ever doing another show. Also, I think we would get even more hijinks if people were happier. More hijinks might bring more ratings.[/QUOTE] I don't know but I think it was a dumb Idea on their part. I think if they made the challenges more of a fun enviorment I bet more people would be willing to do them.

Yea that's my line of thinking and more people=more old favorites which might mean more ratings. The challenge environment seems horrible the more I think about it. LOL.

[QUOTE=Calinks;272861]Anybody know why MTV made the challenges less fun to go to? I understand they want people to be stressed out and stuff but shows like [B]Real World Vegas and Jersey Shore[/B] show that people can have fun and still create crazy situations. Personally, I don't think I could handle the challenge living environment, especially because I don't really drink, seems like there is not much to look forward to beyond challenge. Maybe if they let people bring books, music, and then provided some form of controlled entertainment every week, more people would come back to the shows and perhaps more favorite which would help ratings. Hearing what I hear it just doesn't sound like a place people would really want to be and that may be stopping some of the old favorite from ever doing another show. Also, I think we would get even more hijinks if people were happier. More hijinks might bring more ratings.[/QUOTE] I don't think you can really compare those shows to the challenges. I agree that the challenge environment sounds sucky but The Real World, BGC, and Jersey Show are a totally different thing. They are there for more than a month and they don't have to do anything but party. Whereas the challenge, they seem to have to put people in an atmosphere that's so tense just to make sure the drama will be able to compete with the current Reality tv trend. The drama that was on Gauntlet, Inferno, BOTSexes/Seasons won't work anymore. It's too subtle. So they had to amp it up. Well in my opinion at least.

[QUOTE=jesses_girl;272889]I don't think you can really compare those shows to the challenges. I agree that the challenge environment sounds sucky but The Real World, BGC, and Jersey Show are a totally different thing. They are there for more than a month and they don't have to do anything but party. Whereas the challenge, they seem to have to put people in an atmosphere that's so tense just to make sure the drama will be able to compete with the current Reality tv trend. The drama that was on Gauntlet, Inferno, BOTSexes/Seasons won't work anymore. It's too subtle. So they had to amp it up. Well in my opinion at least.[/QUOTE] 7/8 people in a house, partying during the night, trying to pick up chicks.... one's with all guidoes, ones with a diverse cast... it's pretty comparable.