Ratings Gurus: Why is Thursday "pile up" night? (1 Viewer)

[mattCR]

I've always wondered this, but this year, right now is the worst it's been.
There are days of the week where (to me) almost nothing is on. Tuesday is a good example. But Thursdays have always been a pileup.

This year seems CRAZY to me. Almost everything I follow is on Thursday now:


Bones
Fringe

Grey's Anatomy

30 Rock

CSI

Burn Notice

Project Runway

Supernatural

Vampire Diaries



WTF! What is the pileup here... I'm always puzzled when networks have so many other holes all over their schedule what is the rush to pile everything on Thursday.

 

[ChristopherG]

Thursday is traditionally a night when people are more apt to watch TV, especially younger people who are a desired demographic.

 

[TravisR]

Part of it is that studios advertising their new movies are paying to be seen by as many people as possible so the networks put their big guns on Thursday.

I have the same situation. I watch Community, Parks And Recreation, The Office, 30 Rock, Fringe, Supernatural and CSI all on Thursday. The other 6 days of the week combined, I don't watch that many shows.

 

[Hanson]

The ads rates are higher because of the movie studios advertising for Friday openings. That's why the nets fight so hard to gain a foothold on Thursdays, the side-effect being the better shows all pile up on the same day. It's also the most watched day of the week. Is there a reason Thursday the most watched day or is it simply because so many of the good shows are on Thursday? I can't think of a reason why Thursday gets more viewers than, say, Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday.

Consequently, Friday and Saturday track few eyeballs, so the programming on those nights are really slack. Friday is considered the graveyard of TV, which is why when a show is moved to Friday they immediately call a priest to perform last rites.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Mondays are crowded for me as well:

House
24

Accidentally on Purpose - low priority
How I Met Your Mother
The Big Bang Theory
Two and a Half Men

Chuck
Heroes (low low priority on this one nowadays)

Castle

One Tree Hill
Gossip Girl - when it returns, low priority

--

Tuesdays will be getting crowded too:

Better off Ted/Scrubs - but they go away soon after the burn-off of episodes

NCIS
NCIS-LA - low priority
The Good Wife

American Idol (fast-forward through a lot of the chaff)

Southland (once the new episodes start airing)

White Collar

Not sure about Melrose Place or 90210 when they return

--

Wednesday also getting busier:

The Middle - low priority
Modern Family
Cougar Town

Gary Unmarried - low priority

Mercy - this so fills my ER fix

American Idol
Human Target (will give it a few episodes, but low priority)

Life Unexpected (repeat airing, Mondays too crowded)

Nip/Tuck - glad this is the final season

--

Thursays - slacking off a bit (yeah, right)

Survivor (when it comes back in Feb.)
CSI - low priority

Vampire Diaries
Supernatural

Bones

Community
The Office
30 Rock

Burn Notice

If I have time, maybe Grey's Anatomy, but it's low priority

--

Fridays

Smallville when it returns

Dollhouse - just one more episode


--

Sunday

The Amazing Race when it returns

Big Love

Desperate Housewives - low priority
Brothers and Sisters - low priority

 

[Diallo B]

wow patrick! you spend as much time with your television as i spend with my laptop!

 

[mattCR]

Patrick:

You're forgetting Friday Night Lights on Wednesday.. good episode this last week too

 

[Patrick Sun]

I'm sure I'm missing some other ones, too. I've been falling behind on my "low priority" shows, maybe running 1-2 weeks behind on them, or sometimes I just drop them if I run out of room on the DVRs (though I do try to delete them off the DVRs as soon as I watch the episodes).

Oh, Bones is becoming low priority viewing for me, though I did enjoy the Avatar tie-in a few episodes ago with "Norm" in Avatar being a rotating squint on the show.