In defense of same-day ratings

The Hollywood Reporter

ABC's decision last week to drop live + same day ratings may make sense to the network, but there's still an appetite for immediate information about last night's viewership. "For one thing, some of the biggest shows on TV — live sports telecasts and awards shows like the Oscars and Grammys — pull in virtually all of their audiences on the night they air. (ABC Entertainment president Kerry) Burke acknowledged as much in her note, saying ABC would still report same-day ratings for live events (and did so two days after that for the CMA Awards)," says Rick Porter. "Some of the allure of same-day ratings also comes from the twin forces of habit and need for information. It's only in the last decade or so that delayed-view ratings have even existed, let alone had a meaningful impact on the TV landscape as a whole. The numbers that came through each morning pretty well told the whole story. Even though they don't now, there's still a desire from a lot of TV watchers (professional and otherwise) to see those first results, compare trend lines and get a sense of how shows are stacking up relative to each other."