CW viewers can now rest easy if they were worried about getting too attached the network’s freshman dramas.
The youth-skewing network has ordered full seasons from “The Originals,” “The Tomorrow People” and “Reign.”
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“We’re excited about the creative momentum the producers have established for all three of our new series, and now our fans will have the chance to see the full stories unfold for them this season,” said CW’s president Mark Pedowitz. “With the additional episodes ordered, plus two new dramas and new reality for midseason, we’ll be able to continue our commitment to adding more original programming all year long.”
“The Originals,” though it hasn’t quite captured the same audience numbers of its progenitor, “The Vampire Diaries,” is doing solidly by CW standards on Tuesdays with an average 1.0/3 in adults 18-49 and 2.1 million total viewers, according to numbers through the end of October.
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Meanwhile, “The Tomorrow People,” averaging a .8/2 rating among adults 18-49 and 2 million viewers in its post-“Arrow” spot on Wednesdays, is doing slightly better than “Reign,” which has a .6/2 and 1.8 million viewers on Thursdays after “The Vampire Diaries.”
All three series are performing better than returning series, “Beauty and the Beast.”
This season has some marked changes versus previous seasons on the network. It has steered itself beyond the high school dramas of “90210” and “Gossip Girl” for more genre dramas. Pedowitz has said that he intended on broadening the network’s programming to interesting results.
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The season to date has seen a 9 percent rise in year to year in total viewers as well as a 10 percent increase among the adults 18-49 while their target audiences have been flat year-over-year in both adults and women 18-34.
At the same time (and by nature of the viewing habits of its younger audience), DVR usage and digital viewing are giving after the air date is giving The CW 31 percent of its total broadcast audience. Forty percent of the network’s total overall audience for its season premieres this fall came from digital viewing.
Additionally, the network’s early adaptation of online, on-demand viewing has given it a 50 percent increase over last season. And, the three new series picked up on Monday see 84 percent more digital viewing than The CW’s new series last fall.
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“In just a few seasons, we have built a much stronger primetime schedule. Our on-air ratings are up year to year, and our digital viewing continues to grow exponentially,” said Pedowitz.