SGU ranked #5 in Nielsen’s list of the shows which gain the most from DVR (as a percentage of their premiere night audience), according to TV By the Numbers. The third Stargate series has been picking up an average of 46.9 percent more viewers in the seven days after the Friday night broadcast, thanks to time-shifted viewing.
The show is averaging 2.6 million viewers so far, when the DVR boost is factored in.
Leading the pack for 2009 is Syfy’s Battlestar Galactica, which saw a 59.4 percent increase in viewership due to DVR time-shifting. Four shows increased their audience by more than 50 percent, and six of the top 10 are in the sci-fi / fantasy genre (BSG, SGU, True Blood, Sanctuary, Heroes, and Terminator).
These numbers, of course, don’t account for those watching the show on Hulu, iTunes, Amazon.com
Friday night has been the standard for the Stargate franchise since SG-1 bowed on Showtime in 1997, and on Syfy in 2002. Though it is one of the least-watched nights of the week for television, Fridays have proven stable for genre programs … at least on cable.
When Syfy briefly tried moving Battlestar to Sunday nights, its numbers sank.
Syfy’s highest rated original dramas, though, don’t air on Friday nights at all. The summer series Warehouse 13 and Eureka have aired on Tuesdays — though during the summer, when competition from the major broadcast networks is lower.
Check out the full chart at TV By the Numbers. Stargate Universe returns to Syfy in April.
BlueBrixx's new LEGO-compatible Stargate construction sets are here. So how are they?
"T.J." actress Alaina Huffman reveals the other role she auditioned for, and why she fought…
Actor David Nykl looks back on Stargate Atlantis, being part of the fan community, and…
EXCLUSIVE: A classic Atlantis ship is now in the works from Master Replicas – one…
Fans in and around Vancouver, B.C. can attend a live recording of YVR Screen Scene…
Pre-orders go live this week for the next ship in Earth's fleet, set to ship…
View Comments
Are these the people watching DVR period or the people watching who don't ff through the ads? Someone said those that ff aren't included in the final ratings.
SGU is on Tuesday nights in the UK on Sky1, and it usually gets 1 million viewers, which is great in the UK considering the population of around 70m. In the UK, networks try to avoid friday/saturday nights because loads of people are out. Mabe the US should try mid-week?
My neighbor now has to watch my DVD-R I record from live tv or he has to watch it online. He had to get rid of Cable to afford other things.
DVRs are great and save time. Each Universe episode we have watched has only taken us about 15 minutes to get thru skipping past the non essential drama.
I always watch from download, since there is no stargate on tv in my country. The quality is always excellent and there's no adds so it's great. Ofcourse my viewing doesn't add to the ratings.
@Imitation Tofu: DVRing period. I was Nielsened back in October and all they wanted to know was when the recorded show was watched and how long that took.
I DVR the show to FF over all the unnecessary hand wringing, yelling and non-action that fills 40-70% of each ep. At times it feels like SGU moves slower than a Dragonball Z marathon. :P
I don't think I watch much of anything real-time anymore. It's all DVR, Blu-ray or streaming HULU.
@mistergroenevingers - it's silly it's so difficult to see these shows if you're not in the US or UK. I don't download (mostly a technical issue not a goody 2 shoes one :-) I have no idea why companies ignores us. Would gladly pay to download.
in another life if i wasn't on this god forsaken island, and poor, i'd dvr the hell out of universe too.
Quick question: Why is hulu, etc "less savory"? I can't afford DVR and really most TV right now isn't worth watching so it's hard to justify the cost, but there are some shows that I enjoy but are in a darn inconvenient time. I caught up on all of Legend of the Seeker on hulu and a few SGU's I missed I also watched on hulu. It'll be a shame when hulu goes to a paid service that I've heard it will be doing next year.
Anyway, just thought I'd ask. Thanks.