NBC Ratings: How is CHUCK Doing?

Let's break this down based on shows that have been renewed or shows that other sites think are safe and how CHUCK is doing in its slot and day comparatively. These numbers are based on the last 5 NEW episodes (updated with April 22nd numbers):

MONDAYS (note: only CHUCK had a new episode April 11th)
8pm: CHUCK (1.7), 1.7, 1.6, 1.5, 1.3, 1.3 (on the bubble)
9pm: THE EVENT (1.4), 1.2, 1.2, 1.2, 1.3, 1.1 (99.9% CANCELLED)
10pm: HARRY'S LAW 1.8, 1.8, 1.6, 1.6, 1.4 (potentially RENEWED)
10pm: LAW & ORDER: LA (Apr. 18) 1.1 (not looking good)



THURSDAYS
8pm: COMMUNITY (1.8), 1.8, 1.7, 1.8, 1.4, 1.4 (RENEWED)
10:30pm: OUTSOURCED 1.4, 1.4, 1.5, 1.4, 1.7 (guesswork)

LAW & ORDER: LA was put up in place of THE EVENT and HARRY'S LAW this past week, or we would potentially have seen those shows drop along with CHUCK.  I actually think that the drop to 1.3 is the effect of NBC not running much new programming the previous week, so few eyes were on any promotions NBC had that week.  And since CHUCK had been off for several weeks, viewers simply didn't know it was on.  So, I will make a bold prediction that CHUCK returns to 1.5 1.3 on Monday.  If I am wrong, I will just edit this page to make it seem like I said the right thing.

So what does this mean?  Simply based on the numbers, and despite the recent prediction by TVBytheNumbers that CHUCK is likely to be cancelled, my prediction is... that CHUCK will be cancelled.

Oh wait, no... I meant renewed.  Yes.  Renewed... for 11-13 more episodes returning in the fall of 2011.  I am also predicting that OUTSOURCED gets renewed for 13 episodes.

Is this based on some super secret fake insider NBC source info?  Probably not.  But are my fake sources better than everyone's real sources?  You know they are!

P.S.

Don't get your hopes up... I may just be guessing.

P.P.S

GET YOUR HOPES UP!

EXCLUSIVE! Has CHUCK been cancelled?!

Best fan created poster ever.

15 May UPDATE: CHUCK RENEWED.

Nope.  Not even a little bit.  What?  TVByTheNumbers does this every day.  Why can't I?

Now, click here and ask questions for the next "Dear DR" blog.

Also, check out the last couple of CYT podcast episodes (explicit content).

CYT63 & CYT64

Want to SAVE CHUCK? Here are actual things you can do.

This pic has nothing to do with this article. I am male. -- Property of WB

I see so many people on different sites talking about what can be done to save the show from cancellation.  I haven't really wanted to get too involved in it since I already spend way too much time on this fandom (poor widdle me), and was heavily involved in the season 2 into season 3 "save CHUCK" movement.  Not to mention the whole Chuckfest charity stuff (which still has me feeling shell shocked).

But there is so much misinformation and disinformation around, mostly from well meaning people, about how we can keep the show going that I felt I needed to once and for all point out what WILL make a difference.  So, put away your flash mob signs and your plans to march on NBC and start doing these things:

1. This first one is the MOST IMPORTANT but can only be accomplished by about 1% of US dwellers and likely 1% of people reading this right now.  WATCH CHUCK LIVE... especially if you are a NIELSEN FAMILY MEMBER.  If you are not one, or don't understand what that means, don't worry about it.  You are not one of them.  You don't need to know what it means.

But if you are a Nielsen family member, here is what you have to do to make sure your viewing of the show counts, and counts for as much as possible:

• DO tune into NBC early (at least a minute before the episode begins).
• DO have your button nearby... and click it when it blinks.  Click it every time it blinks.  Have friends and family over and have them click their buttons.  Give guests their buttons and teach them how to use them.  Remember, the ratings Nielsen wants is from people 18-49 (18-34 is even better), so if you have to lie, then your guests are males between the ages of 18 to 34.  Not that I recommend lying... but hey, SAVE CHUCK!
• If you don't have a button, then you are wearing your device.  So, ignore the button pushing part.
• DO record the episode onto your DVR (if you have one) while you watch the episode live.  I will explain why this is important to do in a few steps.
• DO NOT switch channels during commercials.  This is extremely important.  If you do, then your view will not be counted.
• DO NOT pause your live viewing (for those with DVRs) and then fast forward through the commercials.  If you do, then your view will not be counted.
• DO leave the damn remote alone while you are watching CHUCK on NBC LIVE!
• DO, I say this again, click your damn buttons when they blink, every damn time!
• DO, and this is really important, watch CHUCK again, once the live viewing is over, on your DVR.
• DO NOT, and this is really really importanter (I am just making up words now), fast forward through commercials while watching it on your DVR.  Treat it like you are watching LIVE.  
• DO watch the episode on your DVR before 3am if you missed a live viewing, while not fast forwarding, since viewings before 3am WILL count toward the overnight ratings.
• DO watch several more times within three days WITHOUT SKIPPING COMMERCIALS. In fact, if you only watch the commercials and you watch them several times, you will count towards the C3 every time (thanks dkd).  

Let me just explain that third to last point a bit more.  It used to be that if you watched the show twice (live and then on your DVR) that it was only counted once.  But Nielsen is now counting multiple viewings, provided that those viewings include all commercials without fast forwarding through them (called time shifting).  So, if you are a very dedicated Nielsen viewer, please do that.  You will make a big difference.

2. Go to WeGiveAChuck.com and follow through with the letter writing campaign.  Sure, executives at NBC might not read every letter, and they might not even receive all of them, but they do get some of these and someone reads them, and that still means something to the network.  It means a lot more than online petitions and most other fan efforts.  Hand write your letter if you can.  It means a lot more to them if you do.

3. Watch CHUCK episodes on NBC.com and not on Hulu (if you can).  When Comcast acquired majority holdings in NBC, they had to give up controlling interest in Hulu.  That means NBC makes their online viewing ad money from NBC.com.  It may not be a lot of money, but when you watch it there, you do help offset some of the cost.  This helps whether you are a Nielsen member or not.

4. Go to RewardTV.com and create an account.  Then, on Tuesdays, following a new episode of CHUCK, play the game(s) related to the episode.  Make sure to PAY ATTENTION to things in each episode and to the commercials.  This site is owned by Nielsen and is used to qualify audience engagement with ad related events throughout the show.  So, try to answer every question correctly.  Anyone can get involved.  You do not need to be a member of Nielsen.

5. Follow @ChuckMeMondays on Twitter and do everything you are told to do without question!  If you don't, then the show is cancelled.  So do it! (update: at least one brilliant mind didn't get that this was said humorously, so check out the comments section for that one and giggle mockingly)

6. Buy CHUCK gear from the official NBC Store.  And while you are at it, follow @NBCStore on Twitter.

7. Watch CHUCK On-Demand on your cable system.  It should be a free viewing with commercials (you usually can't fast forward through them).  You don't need to be a Nielsen member to have this matter.  Don't know how to do this?  Call your cable company and ask.  That is why you pay the big bucks, so make them teach you.

If I think of something else, I will add it to this list.  If it doesn't end up on this list, then it is a waste of your time.  Now, go spread the word.  If this article doesn't get 200,000 hits by the end of this month, then we are all doomed.

Want to Save CHUCK? Help Nielsen Families Help You

CHUCK needs ratings to survive.  The only way to contribute to the ratings is to be a Nielsen Family member.  But that isn't enough.  See, a lot of Nielsen Family members don't know how the system works.  They think they are helping CHUCK but then do something to have their views either not counted or not fully counted.  So, here is the CHUCK FANDOM MISSION, get the message out to Nielsen Families who love CHUCK, read this blog posting:

WATCH CHUCK LIVE (IMPORTANT: do not change channels during commercials)

If you must DVR an episode, be sure to watch the episode prior to 3AM that day and DO NOT skip any commercials. You must watch your DVR recording as if it were live. You can actually watch the recording within 3-days and have it count but for it to be counted in overnight ratings, watch it prior to 3AM. 

Watching LIVE is most important, so let me detail for you how to get the maximum result from that while using your Nielsen meter.

You should have a button for each member in your house as well as buttons for guests.

• Push EVERY BUTTON when they flash. 
• Make sure to report ages of any guest watching between 18-49 years (18-34 is even better).
• If you don't have a button but wear a passive meter then just adhere to the next point
• DO NOT change channels during commercials!
• I cannot stress this enough.  Your ratings will not count if you do.

Have more TVs? You can have Nielsen add boxes to those and push your buttons like crazy.  Some people don't like to add boxes to TVs because Nielsen physically opens your devices to apply these meters to them, but if you want CHUCK to live on, I highly recommend doing it.

By the way, the most common Nielsen Family viewing recording tool is a diary. You write down what you watched and send it in to Nielsen. Make sure everyone in your household sends in that they watched CHUCK live and that you had lots of people there with you when you watched (full room... you hold parties every Monday).  While this won't be counted in the overnights, it will help CHUCK in the long run.

WHAT IS NIELSEN?

Want to Save Chuck? Rename It!

"CHUCK" Sucks!

Our friend until the end on Twitter, HeatherG71 launched a little game based on the idea that CHUCK would improve its ratings by changing its name (I instigated this so send me the hate mail if you are somehow offended by the notion that CHUCK is a terrible name for a show).

So, jump on Twitter and participate or post your ideas here in the comment section.  The hashtag for this happy little Twitter game is #RenameChuck.

Detonating CHUCK - Quitting Before the Cancellation

August 6th note: ChuckTV and others have blogged about this post and decided to misrepresent its purpose.  So, for those incapable of reading... nowhere does it say that anyone I have talked to said the show IS CERTAINLY GOING TO BE CANCELED, but that it is very unlikely to be renewed.  This is a hypothetical scenario being posed for debate.  An ethical site would have been sure to represent that accurately.

To quote myself in an early response in the comments section: "No insider I have talked to knows anything for sure about the fate of the show."

TRAITOR!
I have had several conversations over this summer with various people from insiders, to industry people, to journalists and most said the same thing: the CHUCK show-runners should announce that season 4 is the final season no matter what happens with the ratings. End it now before NBC cancels the show. Construct a series finale and request that NBC pick up 3 or more new episodes for the season to finish out the story.

ARE YOU NUTS?
But is this the best thing to do for the show? If the show-runners have a five or seven season arc (depending on who you talk to), would ending the show early and on purpose damage the narrative? Would the writers be forced to rush certain scenarios and characters arcs as a way to wrap them up? Not if they are given 3 or more episodes to do it.

BSG AND LOST DID IT!
Both BATTLESTAR GALACTICA and LOST announced that their shows would end before the networks were ready to cancel them. Both shows realized their overall story arc had a finite life and that ending them was better for the series. Granted, both shows had controversial final episodes but both also milked the resolution to the story until the final hour or so of the series. CHUCK has less weight to the grander story and so it could likely spend the final three hours closing the series out on an epic note, without it feeling rushed or contrived.

CONTEMPLATION!
Can CHUCK actually increase its ratings enough in season 4 to get an extended episode order, or a 5th season?  History says no.  Most shows lose ratings every season, they don't increase them.  Sure, a few shows have actually seen ratings increases in later seasons but they were mostly procedural type shows that didn't have a grander arc.  Also, they were easily definable shows.  I still have a hard time describing CHUCK to new viewers in 450 words or less (granted, I use a lot of words).  The only other way CHUCK could either get more episodes in season 4 or get picked up for a 5th season is if other NBC shows do so poorly that CHUCK looks comparatively good.  And even then it is unlikely since it could be seen as part of the problem.  The show could also return if WB lowballs the licensing fee, but from what I hear that fee is already so low that it cannot get much lower.

CAPITULATION!
What do you think?  Should the show-runners announce the end of the show now?  Should they do so to leverage more episodes in the 4th and final season?  Or should they just go on until NBC cancels it?  Will it serve the story and the fans best to finalize the overall arc this year?  Or is it more important to serve the specific season arc and worry about getting more later?

Finally, should WB send me the entire season on DVD as soon as it is available?

TWITTER TREND TO SAVE CHUCK (version 4)

People are scared that CHUCK might be canceled and want to do what they can to save it.  That means we have new people joining our Twitter trending effort.
Below are steps to make it happen.

1. CREATE a TWITTER account

2. DO NOT click the "Protect my tweets" box (under SETTINGS > Account)).  If it is clicked, UNCLICK IT.  Your tweets will NOT be counted in the trend if this is enabled.

3. Follow @ChuckMeMondays


4. At 6PM ET (5PM CT, 4PM MT, 3PM PT) on Monday, we start TWEETING (that is what they call it on Twitter... it means we are commenting/posting) the term/phrase we want to trend

5. We want to trend one term and it is #SaveChuck




"But how do you trend a topic?!" you ask.  Easy.  Just tweet any series of messages (about 100 per hour is safe) using the #SaveChuck  term within the messages.  An example would be:

Please watch CHUCK! Because we want it back for another season! #SaveChuck


Some people just tweet things like:


#SaveChuck #SaveChuck #SaveChuck #SaveChuck

... and then add a 1 or some number after it to differentiate it from their other tweets (Twitter will NOT allow the exact same tweet twice no matter how hard you try).  Some people say that if you do this, it will get you blocked from trending since Twitter considers it spam.  This may be true but no one has ever shown any evidence of this and we have trended many times using this method.  But I recommend trying to just tweet the term in legitimate messages.

 P.S.

It can take OVER an hour for a trend to actually show itself on the trend list.  So, don't quit tweeting just because the term hasn't trended yet.  It is often right on the verge of trending when people quit.  Also, don't tweet more than 100 times (well, it is like 125) per hour or you will end up in TWITTER JAIL for an hour.  If you do end up there, have a backup account.

Nielsen Families - How You Can Save CHUCK

Here are easy ways a member of the Nielsen Family can keep CHUCK on for many years.  Before I even detail how Nielsen families can help, let me say that THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS:

WATCH CHUCK LIVE (IMPORTANT: do not change channels during commercials)

Don't DVR it* and wait to watch it tomorrow.  Don't DVR it* and watch it a week later.  Watch it LIVE.  You can DVR every other show since none of the ones at that hour are in danger of being canceled.  ONLY CHUCK.  So, tune in 5 minutes before it comes on (to make sure you get to record your view as it starts) and stick around until the hour is up and the show is over.  Oh, and record your view (as detailed below).

Let me also say that the strategies we used last year to "save Chuck" are not going to help us this time.  You can watch the show online if you must but it won't bring the show back.  You can buy Subway sammiches but it won't save the show.  You can write letters but it won't save the show.  You can create polls, Facebook groups, and pray... but none of it will save the show.  We HAVE TO have people watching the show LIVE.  So, it is up to every fan who wants the show to survive to get people into the show and to spread the word about the show online as much as possible.

We have 2-months before NBC makes it decision.  NBC is going to renew CHUCK or cancel it based on TV ratings only.  So, we need as many people tuning in LIVE as possible.

Now for the Nielsen Families:

• First, make sure you are a Nielsen Family member
• Second, identify what type of meter (box) you have
• Nielsen has different ways that their members record their viewings
• Active/Passive Meters
• Most members record their views via "Diaries" but these numbers are not counted in the overnights but do matter in the grand scheme of things.

Read these instructions for how you can maximize CHUCK's ratings via your specific Nielsen Family viewing habit recording scheme.

ACTIVE/PASSIVE METERS

This is a box where you have to push a button to record your views.  You should have a button for each member in your house as well as buttons for guests.  Push EVERY BUTTON  when they flash.  Make sure to report ages of any guest watching between 18-49 years (18-34 is even better).  Have more TVs?  You can have Nielsen add boxes to those and push your buttons like crazy.  More ratings!  CHUCK returns for 12 more seasons!  Have a party every Monday if you must.  Get as many people into the room as you can... or get really good at pushing many buttons at the same time.


DIARIES

This is the most common Nielsen Family viewing habit recording tool.  You write down what you watched and send it in to Nielsen.  Make sure everyone in your household sends in that they watched CHUCK live and that you had lots of people there with you when you watched (full room... you hold parties every Monday).

If you know a Nielsen Family member, it is possible that they have NO CLUE how to save the show they love.  They may think they know but many are mislead by their power, or lack of power, to influence a show.  So, if you are part of Nielsen and are not watching CHUCK live, then please do so from now on.  Thank you.

*If you must DVR it, be sure to watch the episode prior to 3AM that day and DO NOT skip any commercials.  You must watch your DVR recording as if it were live.  You can actually watch the recording within 3-days and have it count but for it to be counted in overnight ratings, watch it prior to 3AM.