TV Viewers No Longer Tuning In on Thursday Nights
Could the era of Thursday night "Must-See TV" be over?Once the premier night for advertisers to shill their high-profile products and the weekend's movies, fewer and fewer people are turning on their TVs on Thursday nights. During the first four weeks of the fall television season, only 48.5 million people have tuned in on Thursdays -- 2.2 million people and 4.3 percent fewer than last year, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Among the coveted 18- to 49-year-old demographic, Thursday is the fifth-most-watched night of television every week -- a far cry from the 1990s "Must-See TV" heyday.
But TV viewing is down on every night, not just Thursdays. Some experts, like NBC Universal President of Research Alan Wurtzel, believe people are watching the same amount of TV, just in different ways -- online, DVRs -- that aren't recorded by Nielsen. "Tectonic upheavals in technology have affected consumer behavior, and it's happened so quickly," he told the WSJ. Ratings measurement systems haven't been able to keep up with the changing technology.
Others attribute the decline to the high quality of programming on all nights -- the big shows don't all air on Thursdays like they have in the past, said CBS Corp. Cheif Research Officer David Poltrack.
Though the networks do have hope they will be able to revive the night -- CBS moving its hit sitcom 'The BIg Bang Theory' to Thursdays at 8PM is one example -- according to the WSJ, the combined night-of audience for the four most-watched broadcast networks' Thursday shows is down 14 percent compared to last year.
| Thursdays | |
|---|---|
| Later, via DVR or online | |
| I don't |

16 Comments