Tuesday TV ratings: Most TV shows up as more people stay home

As more people are forced to remain home, the TV ratings are seeing positive upward ticks. It reminds us drops in ratings are due to changes in viewing habits.

I admit I’m one of those people who tries to find some positivity in a world of bad news. As more people remain home, there’s something positive for the TV ratings. I think as more people watch TV live, networks and advertisers will see that people are changing their TV viewing so the way they offer their content needs to work with the views.

In the Tuesday TV ratings, we saw almost every TV show tick up. And not just tick up by small amounts. Ellen’s Game of Games won its timeslot demo with a 41% increase. This Is Us won the night in the demo and won in terms of new programming in the audience with 21% and 24% respective gains.

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The Resident, which has been struggling in its timeslot, was up 17% in the demo and 25% in the audience. The audience was at a season-high with 4.708 million people tuning in. Meanwhile, the demo was at the second-highest of the season, just behind the season premiere, at 0.8.

The only two TV shows to see dips were Legends of Tomorrow and For Life. We definitely don’t need to worry about Legends, which was renewed for a fifth season by The CW back in January. For Life is the show on our radar.

It is worth noting that the For Life dip comes after a big upward tick during the previous week. However, sadly, the audience is down to a season low. Yet, I don’t think we have to be worried about For Life just yet. With so many pilots unable to film, ABC will likely want to renew as many shows as possible. There’s a risk of not having enough TV shows if the pilots can’t film, especially since the contracts will have an eight-week clause.

If the pilots aren’t ready by the time the eight-weeks is up, the networks can drop the shows without penalty. Of course, this is an unprecedented time. There’s a chance the networks will want to keep the pilots and try to change the whole pilot season cycle. But that’s something for another article.

Whatever happens with the pilots, I get a feeling the networks are going to renew anything they can that’s on the bubble. That means For Life is likely safe.

NEW AMSTERDAM — “Liftoff” Episode 217 — Pictured: Ryan Eggold as Dr. Max Goodwin — (Photo by: Virginia Sherwood/NBC) /

Overall, I think this situation is proving that TV viewing has changed. People want to go out with their friends and not be stuck to watching TV on a set schedule. They want to stream their episodes days later when they have a chance on an evening or even wait for the weekends to watch.

It could force networks to completely change the way they offer TV shows in the future. After all, if the TV ratings go back to a level they’ve been at this season before people have been forced to stay home, it’s a clear sign people don’t care about watching live anymore.

Take a look at the TV ratings for Mar. 17 to see the results for yourself.

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Which shows have you been most concerned about? What do you take from the TV ratings right now? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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