True Blood Episode Ratings Season Comparison (via @vs4as)

True Blood has shown strong ratings each season. I have been keeping track of the figures for a few seasons. The source for the figures is :  SpoilerTV 

• Season 1 averaged 2 million viewers per episode.
• Season 2 averaged 4.28 million viewers per episode.
• Season 3 averaged 4.97 million viewers per episode.
• Season 4 averaged 4.97 million viewers per episode.
• Season 5 averaged 4.664 million viewers per episode.

Comparing season 4 ratings to season 5 here is the per episode breakdown for season 4:

• Episode 4.01 (June 26th) : 5.42 million viewers / 3.0% of the 18-49 demo.
• Episode 4.02 (July 3rd) : 2.90 million viewers / 1.5% of the 18-49 demo.
• Episode 4.03 (July 10th) : 5.04 million viewers / 2.8% of the 18-49 demo.
• Episode 4.04 (July 17th) : 5.10 million viewers / 2.7% of the 18-49 demo.
• Episode 4.05 (July 24th) : 5.26 million viewers / 2.8% of the 18-49 demo.
• Episode 4.06 (July 31st) : 5.19 million viewers / 2.8% of the 18-49 demo.
• Episode 4.07 (August 7th) : 5.14 million viewers / 2.9% of the 18-49 demo.
• Episode 4.08 (August 14th) : 5.30 million viewers / 3.1% of the 18-49 demo.
• Episode 4.09 (August 21th) : 5.53 million viewers / 3.1% of the 18-49 demo.
• Episode 4.10 (August 28th) : 5.31 million viewers / 2.9% of the 18-49 demo.
• Episode 4.11 (September 4th) : 4.40 million viewers / 2.4% of the 18-49 demo.
• Episode 4.12 (September 11th) : 5.05 million viewers / 2.8% of the 18-49 demo – Season Finale.

Season 5 figures:

• Ep 5.01     5.201 million viewers/  2.9 % of the 18-49 demo.
• Ep 5.02     4.417 million viewers/  2.6% of the 18-49 demo
• Ep 5.03     4.661 million viewers/  2.6% of the 18-49 demo
• Ep 5.04     4.541 million viewers / 2.6% of the 18-49 demo
• Ep 5.05     4.500 million viewers/  2.6% of the 18-49 demo
• Ep 5.06     4.629 million viewers/  2.7% of the 18-49 demo
• Ep 5.07     4.463 million viewers/ 2.6% of the 18-49 demo
• Ep 5.08     4.596 million viewers/ 2.6% of the 18-49 demo
• Ep 5.09     4.498 million viewers/ 2.7% of the 18-49 demo
• Ep 5.10     4.491 million viewers/ 2.6% of the 18-49 demo
• Ep 5.11     4.926 million viewers/ 2.8% of the 18-49 demo
• Ep. 5.12    5.049 million viewers/ 2.8% of the 18-49 demo

So what do these numbers really mean? The ratings show the total viewers live plus same day viewing and the rating among the 18-49 age demographics. True Blood has grown from season 1 where it averaged 2 million per episode to an average of 4.664 million average in season 5. I know that EW recenly posted a higher figure but they are including the second viewing of the episode in their figure. (to stay consistent I used the numbers as reported by SpoilerTV).

It’s not a surprise to me that season 4 ratings were higher than season 5 figures. Season 4 featured the long awaited romance between Eric and Sookie. The storylines in season 5 did not always hold the fans interest. The finale for season 5 did show a slight increase in viewers. In short, the ratings are still very strong for True Blood. It is still rated number one as a cable show on Sunday night.

Futoncritic has a great detailed explanation to the way ratings are calculated link here:

It will be interesting to see how the ratings fare for the show in season 6. It has already been announced that there will only be 10 episodes in season 6. The season 5 finale left fans waiting for more and hopefully the ratings will remain strong in season 6.

via True Blood Episode Ratings Season Comparison.