Angel

Audience Shout Out

After all the Angel fans creative efforts to resuscitate the doomed show, the WB seem adamant in canceling it anyway - and ending our Buffy universe on TV. Few shows are rescued by fans, but if they could do it for Roswell in 2000, why not Angel?

This got us thinking about the outdated Nielsen’s TV ratings system and we wondered if anything is on the horizon to prevent the discrepancy of fans vs. network executives canceling cool shows.

So we decided to compare the current Nielsen ratings to Lycos’ most-searched TV shows of the week ending April 10, 2004 and we found discrepancies. Here’s our countdown.

Lycos’ number ten most searched primetime TV show doesn’t show up in the top 20 TV shows, according to Nielsen. That show was known as "Teenage Wasteland" during its development phase but you may know it as That 70’s show.

At number nine we find the incredibly powerful Law & Order. Its 15-year track record will continue with the launch of the fourth spin off of the franchise: ’’Law & Order: Trial by Jury’’ next season.

CSI shows up as the number eighth most searched show while TV ratings have it at number one. By the way, CSI will also launch its third spin off this fall with CSI: New York, and will star Gary Sinise and Melina Kanakaredes.

Lycos’ seventh most searched show doesn’t show up on the Nielsen’s until number 23. For my generation the show was called Beverly Hills 90210 but for the teens of today it is better known as The O.C. This show has made geeks chic and this huge discrepancy tells us it won’t be at 23 for very long.

The other dramatic discrepancy we found was Angel. On Lycos search logs Angel flies in at number four while Nielsen has it in the 100s. Here’s another key example why network executives seem out of touch with their audience.

Now let us cut to the top two because Nielsen and Lycos seem to agree.

Omarosa’s stomping ground is our number two. Need to digress for a moment. Did you see this liar on last week’s episode? Omarosa just may be the most hated woman on reality TV. Now back to business, it lands on the Nielsen’s at number 5.

In the end Donald has nothing on Simon. The number one most searched show on Lycos is searched 33 times more than That 70’s show. It also lands as the number two and three spot on the network ratings. Give it up for American Idol. Even if you add up Lycos’ bottom five most searched shows, it doesn’t even come close to touching the titanic of TV - American Idol.

Here are the most searched shows on Lycos with the Nielson ratings in parenthesis. Interesting don’t you think?

1. American Idol (2)
2. The Apprentice (5)
3. Survivor: All-Stars (4)
4. Angel (100s)
5. Friends (16)
6. 60 Minutes (20)
7. The O.C. (23)
8. CSI (1)
9. Law and Order (9)
10. That 70’s Show (24)

Eventually our research led us to iTvRatings.com which says they offer the public the opportunity to directly vote for their favorite TV shows while the show is on the air. This info can then be shared with the TV bigwigs and hopefully better identify the needs and preferences of their audience. Anyone with Internet access can join the site and there is no cost to participate.