‘Travelers’ rebounds to 1.0 rating

Hopefully it’s a sign that the post-season premiere ratings drop has come to an end. “Travelers,” the fifth episode of Stargate Atlantis‘s fourth season earned a 1.0 rating on October 26, rebounding from the series-low 0.9 the week before.

Season Four premiered with a 1.2 rating. Though down from last year — thanks in large measure to the increase of digital video recorders — the ratings for the first four episodes of the season were enough to get Atlantis the go-ahead for a fifth season.

The “Live + Same Day” Nielsen ratings number accounts for viewers who watched “Travelers” live, or watched their DVR recording of the show by 3 a.m. Friday night.

As much as one-third of Stargate Atlantis‘s audience may be using DVR technology to watch new episodes later in the week. According to a new report at Broadcasting & Cable, the show ranks in the top five programs for commercial-viewing on DVR (the elusive new “C3” rating, by which advertising rates will actually be set) in the 25-54 demographic.

“C3” measures the people who watch commercials within three days of recording the episode, and so far has been about equal to the original “Live” ratings for most shows.

That number is a big vindication for the show, the network, and the genre, and may have played a significant role in Atlantis‘s renewal. Network and studio executives have long believed that their tech-savvy audience is made up of early adopters for DVR, making SCI FI more rapidly affected by the changing ways in which people watch television.

“Travelers” did make Atlantis the cable network’s top-rated original drama series once again. Ghost Hunters won the week with a 1.5 rating, and ECW wrestling earned a 1.4 for the week.

A new episode of Flash Gordon once again failed to make SCI FI’s top ten list, meaning it scored at or below a 0.8 rating. A new-to-SCI FI airing of Showtime’s short-lived Odyssey 5 also didn’t make the list.

Beginning November 9, the network has shifted Flash from 9 p.m. to 8 p.m., giving Stargate Atlantis a new lead-in: a reairing of the previous week’s new Atlantis episode.

Don’t miss “The Seer,” this week’s all-new episode of Stargate Atlantis — Friday at 10 p.m. Eastern/Pacific on SCI FI!