Jungle fumble: 'Lost'
sinks to new low
Troubled ABC drama pulls 12.3 million viewers
By Toni Fitzgerald
March 8, 2007
After three weeks of fairly steady ratings, ABC’s “Lost” tripped again last night, dipping to an all-time low.
The island drama averaged a series-low 12.34 million total viewers in its 10 p.m. timeslot, according to Nielsen overnights, falling by 440,000 from last week. While that’s a tiny decline statistically, down just 3 percent, it’s more worrisome when put in a larger context.
Since the show’s return from a three-month hiatus on Feb. 7, “Lost’s” average in total viewers has plunged more than 2 million, down from 14.5 million.
And it’s lost even more viewers since last fall, when its October debut averaged 18.8 million. Last night’s episode averaged a 5.5 in adults 18-49, down 0.2 from the last three episodes, despite its top competition (“CSI: NY” on CBS) being a rerun.
ABC has pointed out that the show still wins its slot easily among 18-49s and it's the top 10 p.m. show on any network this year. It's ABC best performer in the slot in a decade.
There are many theories as to what’s causing the show's decline. “Lost” fans have been vocal about their frustration with the show for raising too many questions while providing too few answers.
When ABC promoted an episode two weeks ago by promising that three crucial questions would be answered, and that did not seem to happen, there was outrage on the many messageboards devoted to the show.
But there are other, separate programming issues as well. “Lost” now airs an hour later than it did last fall, and television usage drops off at 10 p.m. Many fans may be taping the show or catching it later on ABC.com rather than staying up later.
And the show has virtually no lead-in support. Last night ABC’s 9:30 p.m. program, the struggling sitcom “In Case of Emergency,” averaged 6.1 million total viewers and a 2.7 in adults 18-49.
Last fall, “Lost” lead-in “Dancing with the Stars” delivered 19 million total viewers and a 4.9 rating.
Elsewhere last night, Fox was first for the evening among 18-49s once again with an 8.2 average rating and a 21 share. ABC was second at 3.5/9, CBS third at 3.2/8, NBC fourth at 2.4/6, Univision fifth at 1.9/5 and CW sixth at 1.8/5.
At 8 p.m. Fox led easily with an 11.1 rating for “American Idol,” while the rest of the networks were lumped closely together. Univision and CBS tied for second at 2.2, Univision for “La Fea Mas Bella” and CBS for “Jericho,” ABC was fourth with a 2.1 for “George Lopez” (2.1) and a repeat of “According to Jim” (2.1), with CW and NBC tied for fifth at 2.0, CW for “America’s Next Top Model” and NBC for “Dateline.”
Fox led again at 9 p.m. with a 5.2 for the unspectacular series premiere of “Wedding Bells,” which lost more than half its lead-in. CBS moved to second with a 3.9 for a repeat of “Criminal Minds.” ABC was third that hour with a 2.9 average for a new “According to Jim” (3.2) and “In Case of Emergency” (2.7), with NBC fourth with a 2.4 for new timeslot occupant “Crossing Jordan,” Univision fifth with a 1.8 for “Mundo de Fieras” and CW sixth with a 1.6 for “Pussycat Dolls Present: Search for the Next Doll.”
ABC took the lead at 10 p.m. with a 5.5 for “Lost,” followed by a 3.5 for CBS for a repeat of “CSI: NY.” NBC was third with a 3.0 for “Medium,” its best outing in more than a month, and Univision fourth with a 1.5 for “Don Francisco Presenta.”
Fox also led the night among households easily, finishing with a 12.3 average rating and a 19 share. CBS was second at 7.4/12, ABC third at 5.3/8, NBC fourth at 5.1/8, CW fifth at 2.8/4 and Univision sixth at 2.3/4.
