Knight Rider number one on Sci-Fi

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Knight Rider number one on Sci-Fi

Post by knightendo77 » Wed May 13, 2009 2:14 pm

Now THIS is what I'm talking about! Sci-Fi's number one show is currently 'Medium' with about 150,000 viewers (remember this is a very niche channel) but Knight Rider trounced it with over half a million viewers! Not only is this a record since the premiere of 'Heroes' but it also made Knight Rider the number one programme on non-terrestrial channels for the UK!! (Non-terrestrial means those that need more than just a household aeriel to receive. eg. satellite, cable, freeview, freesat etc. and most houses have them these days)

Here's the report from Sci-Fi's own site:

"London, 13 May 2009: NBC Universal Global Networks today reveals that the premiere of brand new Knight Rider has delivered its SCI FI channel's best series ratings since the first run of Heroes in 2007. Over half a million viewers tuned in for the high-octane, feature-length pilot which guest starred David Hasselhoff.

The premiere made SCI FI the #1 non-terrestrial entertainment channel amongst all adults in digital cable and satellite homes.

SCI FI also enjoyed a steep uplift amongst young adults, with 33% of viewers aged 16 - 34, up nearly 60% on the channel's average. Surprisingly, women aged 16 - 24 outnumbered their male counterparts in the same age group by 6 share points, proving that cars aren't just for the boys.

Jon Farrar, Programming Director (UK), NBC Universal Global Networks commented, "We've always said that the return of K.I.T.T. is an historic TV moment and the viewers have clearly agreed with us. We're thrilled with the ratings and really proud to bring such an iconic series back to life on the SCI FI channel. We've introduced the show to a whole new age group... a generation of young viewers can finally understand why us over 35s get so excited about a talking car."

The series is based on the 1980s vehicle which helped drive actor David Hasselhoff to worldwide fame, but has been completely updated for the 21st century audience. K.I.T.T. is now voiced by actor Val Kilmer and boasts state of the art weaponry, plus the ability to transform or change colour. At the wheel is Justin Bruening, an actor new to UK audiences but a well-established heart-throb in the USA after starring in soap opera All My Children. Bruening plays Mike Traceur, the son of original character Michael Knight.

The series will continue to premiere on SCI FI every Tuesday at 8pm and is also available in high definition on SCI FI HD (available on the Sky platform). Following the feature-length pilot last night, Knight Rider will continue in one hour instalments and go back-to-back with the UK premiere of DOLLHOUSE, another highly anticipated fantasy from Buffy creator Joss Whedon, which starts next Tuesday 19 May at 9pm."

----

Notice it says NBC Global Networks, so NBC is watching and must be overjoyed with how it's performed here and in the other parts of Europe we've heard about on the forum!

Quick edit #1: Look at the demos! Women too! Ford will be happy! :D

Quick edit#2: Thanks to AntoineJarvis on Twitter :)
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Re: Knight Rider number one on Sci-Fi

Post by KnightINSTINCT » Wed May 13, 2009 2:20 pm

Hopefully, the first half of the season doesn't turn them away.

...There really were some bad eps *cough-Knight Of The Iguana-cough-cough*

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Re: Knight Rider number one on Sci-Fi

Post by weeezl » Wed May 13, 2009 2:32 pm

Now thats what I wanted to hear. :dance:

I have a feeling it will do well over here, the international market is a big one and I'm sure if ratings are consistently high we will get to see more KR. :good:

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Re: Knight Rider number one on Sci-Fi

Post by knightendo77 » Wed May 13, 2009 2:52 pm

Indeed, the European market for the original series has never waned with it getting consistantly good ratings whenever it was repeated and merchandise for it sells consistently well. International markets helped Star Trek Next Generation, Baywatch, 24 and continues to help Heroes so we'll see how this transpires. :) Knight Rider is a hot property in Europe and I feel the new series (even the early eps) will be better received here.
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Re: Knight Rider number one on Sci-Fi

Post by weeezl » Wed May 13, 2009 3:23 pm

This is why I'm not expecting any big announcements from NBC regarding KR's future any time soon, I honestly believe they haven't made their minds up yet. KR is far too big a franchise for them to just brush it under the carpet and they know that as well. It has the massive built in fan base and international support so there is a big possibility we will see more episodes. Wether it would carry on in its current incarnation is anyones guess but the foundations are already there.

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Re: Knight Rider number one on Sci-Fi

Post by sarfraz » Wed May 13, 2009 3:26 pm

Does anyone know how they calculate the ratings for this? I'm just curious to see if its based on a selected pool of Sky boxes or are all Sky boxes viewing habits monitored?

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Re: Knight Rider number one on Sci-Fi

Post by knightendo77 » Wed May 13, 2009 3:40 pm

Don't quote me on this (lol) but I think I remember reading somewhere that all digital boxes can be monitored for specific ratings. And since that's the only way to get Sci-Fi they should be pretty accurate. Not sure if those recorded on Sky Plus, freeview/Virgin/freesat recordable boxes will be taken into account though.
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Re: Knight Rider number one on Sci-Fi

Post by Solid Snake » Wed May 13, 2009 4:16 pm

Excellent news!!! Great to hear this... :good:

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Re: Knight Rider number one on Sci-Fi

Post by sarfraz » Wed May 13, 2009 5:09 pm

knightendo77 wrote:Don't quote me on this (lol) but I think I remember reading somewhere that all digital boxes can be monitored for specific ratings. And since that's the only way to get Sci-Fi they should be pretty accurate. Not sure if those recorded on Sky Plus, freeview/Virgin/freesat recordable boxes will be taken into account though.
That just raises an interesting question. How did they figure out the demographics and so quickly.

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Re: Knight Rider number one on Sci-Fi

Post by knightprobe89 » Thu May 14, 2009 12:28 am

lets not forget that the 2 hour pilot did very well in the usa with 13 million viewers, but when the series premiered the numbers dropped off a lot. so the same thing could happen in the uk when everybody sees how crappy the series is in the beginning before the reboot!
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Re: Knight Rider number one on Sci-Fi

Post by trissybabes » Thu May 14, 2009 5:06 am

knightprobe89 wrote:lets not forget that the 2 hour pilot did very well in the usa with 13 million viewers, but when the series premiered the numbers dropped off a lot. so the same thing could happen in the uk when everybody sees how crappy the series is in the beginning before the reboot!
But also the US had a 6 moth wait between Pilot and series - with the series following straight on in the UK, it'll at least keep a high residual viewership anyway!

Some good news for KR at last!

Let's hope it's enough...

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Re: Knight Rider number one on Sci-Fi

Post by chrisjones » Thu May 14, 2009 8:44 am

And to think people were calling me stupid for saying that UK Sci-Fi channel could save KR series 2!?

Ok so its not happened yet, but hey, this is a damn good start wouldn't you agree!?

I so hope it happens just so I can rub it in the doubters faces big time hahaha.
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Re: Knight Rider number one on Sci-Fi

Post by Mr.Marcus » Thu May 14, 2009 12:08 pm

chrisjones wrote:And to think people were calling me stupid for saying that UK Sci-Fi channel could save KR series 2!?

Ok so its not happened yet, but hey, this is a damn good start wouldn't you agree!?

I so hope it happens just so I can rub it in the doubters faces big time hahaha.
Where does the idea that foreign ratings saving a domestic show come from? I've never ever heard of a show on the same network which suffered from dismal domestic ratings being saved by high foreign ratings. 500,000 viewers may be a lot in the UK, but its a drop in the bucket over here. I don't want you to have high hopes, but do you know of a show that was saved on the same network b/c of high foreign ratings?

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Re: Knight Rider number one on Sci-Fi

Post by welshKITT » Thu May 14, 2009 12:38 pm

I really enjoyed the pilot and I look forward to the next ep. :) I think one thing that could save the show in the US will be one thing, it's one word and begins with M.... Merchandise. The only thing about that though is that merchandise for most TV shows don't really come out til around the second or third season for a show, since NBC owns the Knight Rider franchise then I hope they have many potential ideas for merchandise.
Mr.Marcus wrote:
chrisjones wrote:And to think people were calling me stupid for saying that UK Sci-Fi channel could save KR series 2!?

Ok so its not happened yet, but hey, this is a damn good start wouldn't you agree!?

I so hope it happens just so I can rub it in the doubters faces big time hahaha.
Where does the idea that foreign ratings saving a domestic show come from? I've never ever heard of a show on the same network which suffered from dismal domestic ratings being saved by high foreign ratings. 500,000 viewers may be a lot in the UK, but its a drop in the bucket over here. I don't want you to have high hopes, but do you know of a show that was saved on the same network b/c of high foreign ratings?
Heroes is one show, it's ratings are as low as ever in the US but is high in foreign markets. When Friends started in the US it was a season or so before it became a hit, why didn't NBC cancel that? Simple, it was a hit in other countries. Another example is The Simpsons, it's ratings are as low as ever in the US but again in foreign countries the ratings are okay which is the reason why FOX keeps renewing it.
Also another difference between the US and UK for example when it comes to TV shows is that in the UK, the stations/ channels/ networks don't put popular shows up against high rated reality shows but in the US they do.
That proves that reality TV is pretty much the scripted TV's killer. Either that or all US networks really wants to get rid of scripted TV shows cause they don't want to pay actors and writers.
knightprobe89 wrote:lets not forget that the 2 hour pilot did very well in the usa with 13 million viewers, but when the series premiered the numbers dropped off a lot. so the same thing could happen in the uk when everybody sees how crappy the series is in the beginning before the reboot!
I'm not sure about that, I can understand why so many US fans didn't like the show at first, one reason could be even though they didn't admit it was they were comparing it to the original (why else do people say for movies that sequels suck? lol).
I'll give you an example, when Doctor Who started again 4 years ago, many fans of the original Doctor Who also had a similar reaction to that but got used to it overtime not to mention that the new show gained many new fans. They are both very diferent shows but the core of it was the same.

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Re: Knight Rider number one on Sci-Fi

Post by chrisjones » Thu May 14, 2009 1:07 pm

See, us 'foreigners' have more worth than you give us credit for :lol:

Seriously though, the UK market has saved a lot of shows from the chop. Remember, the vast majority of series end up on DVD, that's were the money is to be made. If there's a market outside the US for the show it makes sense to continue to make it.
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Re: Knight Rider number one on Sci-Fi

Post by ollymoran » Thu May 14, 2009 1:58 pm

This is excellent news! I was in two minds weather KR08 was any good but after watching found it excellent! I am a massive fan of the show and are surprised they are trying to take it off air after just one season, thought they would of given it a fair chance after all it is the first time in 25 years that KR was created again. From what I have seen of the series though that is even better than the pilot!! Us brits LOVE our knight rider so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE NBC, Dont cancel.

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Re: Knight Rider number one on Sci-Fi

Post by knightendo77 » Thu May 14, 2009 2:19 pm

@Mr Marcus: Again taking what's been said and twisting it to suit your own needs, 500,00 may be a drop in the ocean in the States but, hello, this isn't the States! It's all relative, and having KR as the #1 non-terrestrial programme is terrific! And these ratings are a record for Sci-Fi! You cannot start comparing ratings like-for-like between countries, they're all different sizes for crying out loud, you have to put it into perspective. Then again, we've given (on this and other threads) plenty of examples of shows that've performed badly in the States and have been rescued because the international audience is there and you're just refusing to listen to this, or to anyone actually with a different opinion than your own about the show.

We get the dirft, you don't like it. This thread is a positive one for fans to celebrate the fact it's doing very well internationally, if you don't like this fact don't join in. If you don't like the show, don't watch it. Stop wishing for its cancellation as this'll deny fans the chance to watch it, or denying us the chance to celebrate its success. There's plenty of room on this whole forum for you to talk about the original or to join in a constructive criticism of the new show if you must in threads created for that reason, but stop with this constant bombardment of "it's crap, it's rating's are crap despite what you say, and i want it cancelled as i'm the only true KR fan" (summary of your recent posts), you wouldn't like someone coming here and doing that for the original show which you do like! No, you'd call for them to be banned and you'd be just right, but at the moment you're doing exactly the same for the new series and its many fans!
Last edited by knightendo77 on Thu May 14, 2009 2:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Knight Rider number one on Sci-Fi

Post by knightendo77 » Thu May 14, 2009 2:22 pm

...Aanndd... anyway... deep breath and back on topic:
ollymoran wrote:This is excellent news! I was in two minds weather KR08 was any good but after watching found it excellent! I am a massive fan of the show and are surprised they are trying to take it off air after just one season, thought they would of given it a fair chance after all it is the first time in 25 years that KR was created again. From what I have seen of the series though that is even better than the pilot!! Us brits LOVE our knight rider so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE NBC, Dont cancel.

Oliver :kitt:
Well there's been three other attempts over the past 25 years but none have been popular at all, internationally included. This one is different. I'm also glad to see the long quote from a guy at NBC Universal Global Networks UK, glad to hear NBC being so positive as we've heard nothing recently. Ford will be VERY happy too!
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Re: Knight Rider number one on Sci-Fi

Post by Mr.Marcus » Thu May 14, 2009 3:05 pm

Heroes is one show, it's ratings are as low as ever in the US but is high in foreign markets. When Friends started in the US it was a season or so before it became a hit, why didn't NBC cancel that? Simple, it was a hit in other countries. Another example is The Simpsons, it's ratings are as low as ever in the US but again in foreign countries the ratings are okay which is the reason why FOX keeps renewing it.
Those shows were well on there way to being domestic hits before foreign ratings came into play. Friends was #8 on tv in its first season, a top ten show before it hit foreign markets - it didn't slowly become a hit after its first season or so and it certainly didn't do so b/c of foreign ratings. Fact of the matter is, there is no clear and convincing evidence that foreign ratings saved a show that lost ratings during its domestic run like KR did when it had a 21% drop off in ratings over the course of its first season.

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Re: Knight Rider number one on Sci-Fi

Post by knightendo77 » Thu May 14, 2009 3:27 pm

Why don't you join (or start) a criticism thread? Fact is, anytime anyone has somethng good to say about the show you have to come in and bring everyone down! Please stop it!!

24 was going to get cancelled until foreign ratings came in.

Baywatch WAS cancelled and foreign ratings changed that and it came back syndicated.

Babylon 5 was not a runaway success in America where it was syndicated, foreign ratings helped massively on keeping it on the air for five years.

The original Knight Rider was a bigger success in foreign markets.

Robin Hood doesn't generate amazing ratings for the BBC, just average, in the UK but in foreign markets it's been a huge success and so is still being made by the Beeb.

(AND welshKITT's points still stand as by Mr Marcus' theory they should all have been cancelled by now. They are no longer the runaway successes they once were and have taken huge dives in ratings in the US, but foreign markets are keeping them alive and in production. TV is a worldwide market now, not just domestic.)

Stop raining on everyone's parade Marcus! We're fans of the show! Deal with it! Stop posting in threads like this where we're being positive and enjoying the programme and its success, in my opinion you're just being childish and immature. Wishing a show cancelled just because you don't like it, and having to post negative comments everytime a fan posts (even attacking on several occassions) is pathetic!

To everyone else, we've seen this kind of thing happen before the new series was even mentioned, when random people would arrive here and wish to do nothing but attack the original series and they were swiftly banned. Equal measures should be taken now, not a complete ban but this kind of behaviour must be stopped as this poster is refusing to let us enjoy talking about the new series here. Can we get confirmation that this won't be tolerated, in the same way it wasn't tolerated with the original series please?
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Re: Knight Rider number one on Sci-Fi

Post by Mr.Marcus » Thu May 14, 2009 3:35 pm

I'm not "raining on anyone's parade" I'm just trying to manage expectations. The fat lady has sung, so its not healthy to jump on 500,000 in foreign ratings and use that as the basis to put forth the idea that it will renew KR domestically on NBC.

The shows you have put forth went into syndication where they developed a following. At best, foreign ratings support the idea that KR *might* have a place in syndication, but its status on NBC is spoken for if you connect all the dots and take the rose colored glasses off. But still, I don't think there's a strong enough case to support the idea that KR has a place in syndication. Baywatch for instance generated massive foreign ratings in multiple countries, 500,000 in the UK doesn't compare to that. At best its premature. Now if you have a trend where its #1 all over Europe, Asia, etc. then we'll talk.

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Re: Knight Rider number one on Sci-Fi

Post by knightendo77 » Thu May 14, 2009 3:54 pm

The 500,000 number is, I repeat, relative. We've already heard from other members on here that it's in the top 3 in other countries in Europe, which is no mean feat. 500,000 might not sound like a lot to you, but over here for a non-terrestrial channel it is absolutely amazing. I don't think you realise just HOW amazing that is! Not only is it #1 in that group but the demos are fantastic! Then take into account the channel it's on and it's even better.
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Re: Knight Rider number one on Sci-Fi

Post by Mr.Marcus » Thu May 14, 2009 4:15 pm

Interesting. I tend to forget what little it takes to impress the rest of the world. It makes sense now why people are getting orgasmic over 500,000 viewers for KR.

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Re: Knight Rider number one on Sci-Fi

Post by knightendo77 » Thu May 14, 2009 5:19 pm

Right that's it, that just proves my point and the point of those others on here sick to the back teeth of your comments, and attitude that just because you don't like it the millions of fans that are still amassing aren't allowed to have the show and it must be cancelled. Moderators, can something be done please? We've explained time and time again why this figure is so important (or maybe Mr Marcus expects figures in excess of the US ones even though we're a vastly smaller country!!) and about foreign ratings helping American shows... and still this happens!
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Re: Knight Rider number one on Sci-Fi

Post by DJGM » Fri May 15, 2009 11:23 am

One thing Marcus is either unaware, or blissfully ignorant of, is the fact that the Sci-Fi Channel
is a miche channel in the UK, only available via satellite and cable TV services. The average
audience for Sci-Fi Channel UK is a lot lower than 500000, so for any show on that channel,
be it Knight Rider or something else, to get 500000 viewers, is a fantastic result.

However, if new Knight Rider had got its UK premiere on one of our major TV networks such
as ITV or BBC, and only got 500000 viewers ... it would indeed be considered a massive flop.

If Marcus can't stop being an ignorant prat, and accept this, he needs to shut the hell up.

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