Scripted shows are already plunging down deep into the lower ranks, and now the onset erosions have come for even the sturdiest of 2021 reality TV shows. Prior seasons had NFL, reality TV shows and an occasional scripted show like This is Us peppered into the top 10. The Voice and The Masked Singer were always vexed at the front, and even American Idol managed to squeeze into the top 20. Flash forward to spring 2021, and only the spring version of The Masked Singer remains in the top 20. The Voice now rests in entirety in the 20's, and American Idol is losing its voice at 32nd and 45th places, respectively.
Several blame ABC and NBC for stacking them on top of each other competitively and are cannibalizing each other. However, both are aged franchises. While The Bachelor and Bachelorette are also aged, they have been periodically updated. The ratings losses that came for scripted shows a few seasons back have now come for reality shows as perking above the 1.0 benchmark is a novelty and treat in 2021 often awarded only to sports. Does this mean Reality TV is declining? Not at all. It may shine a light that it is time to update the brands, but Reality TV is still less costly and more lucrative for broadcast networks.
This is Us' tumble this season is devastating to the ratings community as it was the last of the mammoth hits produced by a network. Once the #1 scripted show legions ahead of the competition, it now rests in 3rd place and sliding closer to the likes of CBS' FBI mainstay. Watch the upcoming weeks as more renewals and cancellations are coming, most recently with CBS surprising viewers by axing MacGyver.
TVRG widened the data net for the ratings by moving the start point from September 20 to September 6, 2020, now leaving 183 shows in the charts with a few more entries coming. This chart will lead to the site's first-ever in-house produced Ratings History article for the season, coming in late May. In the past, articles from Variety, Deadline and several wonderful sister sites like TV By The Numbers and Spotted Ratings. Check out Ratings History by clicking on the library icon at the top of the site.
