Gephyrophillia | Watch This Space #53

Originally Posted on 03/25/2003 by Jeff Harris

As I have said time and time again, the Nielsen ratings system is a joke. Since they've been in place in 1974, they are primarily used to boost some network's egos as well as help networks get more ad revenue. That's the good part, I guess. Unfortunately, the thing is the ratings also make people drop quality shows, especially if they're low. Most times, they don't even judge the whole viewership of a particular show, just broken down into several groups. The Nielsens are a joke.

But the joke is pretty damned good for Toonami!

The ratings are in for last week's Toonami relaunch, and it's all good. As expected, the cycle of the final episodes of Dragonball Z had an increase of 56% of all viewers aged 9-14 (boys in that group alone increased 67%) compared to last year around the same time. For the new show Rurouni Kenshin, ratings were also up in that same group by 38% (boys by 45%).

Now the big picture.

Do you know what the shows that they're being compared with? In Dragon Ball Z's slot last year (5:30 PM) was new episodes of Dragon Ball, and in Kenshin's slot (6:30 PM) were reruns of Batman Beyond. So, a little more than half the tween viewers would want to see new episodes of Dragon Ball Z than new episodes of Dragon Ball, and just a little bit more of that same audience would rather watch the Wandering Samurai than futuristic Dark Knight.

Like I said, it's all good. More of the target audience of the block is actually watching Toonami, which is good. What's bad is that the Nielsens didn't even take time to measure the rest of us (i.e. people a lot older than 14). The ratings are inconclusive, but there is a bit of growth in the Toonami viewership, and this isn't a growth that you want to get checked out by a doctor.

Saturday Video Entertainment System, SVES, or just "that Saturday block" is getting a couple of new shows starting next Saturday, April 5. Leaving the block are Zoids Zero, Max Steel, and Justice League (which is coming to weeknights starting the following Monday). Joining the block are Jackie Chan Adventures, X-Men: Evolution, Samurai Jack, G Gundam, and later in the month, Dragon Ball Z. It seems like the shows of both SVES and Toonami are interchangable, but I would never want to see those two very faddish shows that are on the lips of most card game-playing suburban youths on Toonami. But still, isn't it relaxing to think that one network could create and program FOUR action animation blocks and other networks can't even muster the energy to concentrate on the one they got. And if you think that was a slam at the orange ameoba network, you're right.

Until we are one, later.
Jeff Harris
CNX Creator/Webmaster
March 25, 2003