New season ratings off to slow start

New episodes of Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis have finally arrived on SCI FI Channel in the United States, much to the delight of the series’ fans. But the early ratings numbers aren’t causing any cheers. The new season premiered to low average household ratings, with both series having lost a significant portion of their March season finale audiences.

SG-1 premiered with “Flesh and Blood” on July 14. Having moved back from 8 p.m. to its pre-Galactica 9 p.m. timeslot, the show earned a very poor 1.4* average household rating. This is a loss of 26 percent from Season Nine’s capstone, “Camelot” (1.9), and 22 percent down from last season’s average rating (1.8).

It is SG-1‘s lowest rating since Season Six’s “Paradise Lost” premiered on January 31, 2003. Since the series moved to SCI FI four years ago, only “Enemy Mine” has fared worse (1.2).

The season premiere of Stargate Atlantis followed at its new timeslot, 10 p.m., on July 14. “No Man’s Land” earned a slightly better 1.5 rating, down almost 17 percent from the season finale (1.8) and 21 percent from the Season Two average (1.9).

This ties Atlantis‘s lowest rated episodes, “Coup D’etat” and “Michael” — ironically, fan favorites.

Late-night reruns of these episodes earned ratings of 1.0 and 0.7, respectively.

The two series improved slightly on July 21, with SG-1‘s “Morpheus” earning a 1.6 average household rating. The episode did show marked improvement in key female demographics.

Atlantis held on to its lead-in audience, also earning a 1.6 for “Misbegotten.”

Late-night reruns earned a 0.9 and 0.7, respectively.

At last week’s San Diego Comic Con event, SCI FI programming vice president Nora O’Brien encouraged fans to watch the show live, not on TiVo — since that is ultimately the ratings number that matters to advertisers, and upon which the series’ renewals depend.

If the ratings support them, the network seems to have every intention of renewing the two Stargate series for an eleventh and fourth season, respectively. (SG-1‘s cast has already signed on for a possible eleventh year.)

The new seasons of Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis continue every Friday this summer at 9 p.m. Eastern/Pacific!

* The ratings provided here are “Live + Same Day,” which are slightly higher than live viewing ratings, to accommodate for initial DVR viewing.