Ratings Rants

The headlines are in:

• ‘Duck Dynasty’ Season 5 premiere suffers drastic drop in ratings – New York Daily News
• Is ‘Duck Dynasty played out? – Los Angeles Times
• Duck Dynasty Returns to Significant Drop in Ratings: Are You Watching the New Season? – Parade
• Duck Dynasty Ratings Plummet – Advocate.com
• Duck Dynasty Suffers Huge Ratings Drop as Fifth Season Commences – contactmusic.com
• ‘Duck Dynasty’ sees ratings drop in season premiere – MSNBC

So there you have it folks, Duck Dynasty is dead.  We’re just waiting for the undertaker to finish his job and soon the body will be in the ground.  That’s what they, the media, want you to think.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on your perspective, Duck Dynasty is alive and flying high.  The season 5 premiere had “only” 8.5 million viewers, down from the 8.6 million viewers of the February 2013 season 3  premiere and the 11.8 million view of the season 4 premiere.   To many, the drop in numbers is a sure sign that the show is dying because of Phil Robertson’s comments about gays, blacks and marriage.  That just doesn’t hold up to scrutiny.

Even though the 8.5 million number doesn’t compare to the  anomaly of the 11.8 million viewers from the season 4 premiere, it is still an extraordinary number of viewers for a reality TV show on cable television.  The 8.5 million viewers are still more than watched the season 4 finale, which occurred before Phil’s comments.  It seems that the vultures are circling but the Robertsons are not cooperating.