2011-12 Ratings Review: THE RIVER

THE RIVER is another example of a concept that viewers are attracted too, but the execution of the concept is completely lacking.

THE RIVER premiered during the February sweeps, on Tuesday the 7th. Its two-hour premiere numbers were solid for ABC. 7.6 million viewers and a solid 2.4 demo rating. But that would be as good as it got for the drama.

In week two, there was a loss of nearly 3 million viewers (35%) and 0.7 points (30%) in the demo ratings. The following weeks would see its ratings average drop almost 50%, in all categories, from the premiere.

The broadcast networks do come up with cool and solid concepts for their dramas, but they always seem to miss the mark, 98% of the time.It seems that network executives always want to fall back on standard formulas, instead of being innovative and fresh.Cable networks understand this and it is why they are grabbing more and more shares of the TV audience.