It's Good to Be Ratings King (Again)

The backlash that plagued much of Season 3 is over.

Well, you already knew that, of course. You already knew that by Season 3's finale episode, which reminded wayward fans that Lost is the most ambitious and creative show on television. But for the past seven months, we had yet to see the kind of proof that advertisers love: Nielsen ratings.

Last night's Season 4 opener, "The Beginning of the End," averaged 16.1 million viewers overall. (Wildly advertised lead-out Eli Stone managed to hang onto 11.6 million of those viewers; apparently I was one of the 4.5 million to tune out.) While the number is down from the Season 3 premiere (which topped 17 million by a hair), it destroyed the ratings for last year's February - May run, the sixteen episodes that bore the brunt of the backlash. In those dark days, the show premiered to 14 million viewers and even dipped below 12 million for a few episodes.

Even better: Nielsen now estimates that 22% of the country has the capacity to record the show and watch on a later date (with a DVR or TiVo), versus 10% last year. That means Nielsen's live-plus-seven rating, which estimates how many people watched the show within a week of it airing, will likely be in the 17-18 million range.

Since this was a premiere episode, though, don't expect the numbers to maintain their strength; they'll most likely dip to the 14 million range. But heck, let's put everything in perspective: even at its lowest point, Lost was a well-rated show, and it continues to especially excel with 18-49-year-olds, the demographic that advertisers love the most. Bottom line: Lost is back, baby.

...For seven more episodes, that is.

TAGS: Season3 Season4 Premiere Ratings
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It's Good to Be Ratings King (Again)

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