In what may be a telling sign of things to come, the football announcer Jim Nantz took a moment during Sunday's game between Denver and Oakland to urge viewers who had recorded CBS shows during premiere week not to forget that those episodes were still available to be played back and enjoyed.
CBS was, in effect, promoting its series even after they had been on the air.
And why not? The biggest takeaway in the television business from the season's first week is that first impressions of a new show's success may mean next to nothing now. With about 20 percent of viewers watching episodes of network series on a delayed basis, the initial ratings have to be seasoned with much larger quantities of salt.
In taking stock of the first three nights of premiere week, each of the networks on Monday pointed to bumps in viewership reported by Nielsen based on three days of playback. All of last week's shows - from Monday throug h Wednesday night - got updated on Monday, and the results in many cases were eye-popping.
NBC, for example, had reason to promote one new drama, “Revolution,†as the season's first potential breakout hit. The show added 3.7 million viewers (or 41 percent) to its original total and climbed to a 5.2 rating in the 18- to 49-year-old audience that counts most in ad sales, from a promising 3.4 rating. That represented a record-setting jump (for any new series) of 1.74 rating points, or 53 percent.
“Revolution†was the biggest gainer, but the general trend was positive across the board, with an average gain of 26 percent in that 18-49 category. That kind of bounce is so significant that at least one network on Monday was contemplating not releasing or commenting on its ratings in the future until the three-day results were released.
In another example, CBS at first had reason for genuine concern when it saw the results for its returning drama, “Hawaii Five-0,†last Tuesday. The show scored a 1.8 rating, its worst ever, in that 18-49 segment for its initial telecast. By three days later, however, it had gained 2.5 million viewers over all and climbed to a 2.6 rating (a gain of 41 percent) among those younger adults, a respectable number for any 10 p.m. drama.
NBC's own 10 p.m. drama on Tuesdays, “Parenthood,†also turned around the impression that it was troubled, jumping to a 2.5 rating from 1.8 (39 percent) when three days of delayed viewing were added.
ABC's hit “Modern Family†became an even bigger hit after three days - going to a 7.3 rating from a 5.5. CBS's comedy “How I Met Your Mother†seemed to show some signs of weakening in its initial number, a 3.6; but that grew to a 4.4 after three days. “Two Broke Girls†looked much more like the big hit CBS expected by going to 4.6 from 3.7, a 24 percent gain.
Among new shows, which often are less recor ded until viewers get to know them, the CBS drama “Vegas†got a nice lift to a 3.2 rating from a 2.5; and NBC's new comedy “The New Normal†looked far better after three days with a 2.8, up from a 2.0 - a gain of 40 percent.
The results seemed to prove that patience will be more important than ever with new series. In some cases, of course, the audience seems to have spoken quickly, as on Fox's “The Mob Doctor†which stayed weak (1.6), adding only 0.3. The new CBS comedy “Partners†gained an anemic 8 percent to a 2.6, not a positive sign.
ABC's “Dancing with the Stars†increased its ratings number by just 12 percent, and a new Fox comedy, “Ben and Kate,†got little out of the three-day delay, just a 14 percent boost.
Over all, the numbers were a further indication of how viewing is being shaped by devices that allow viewers to plan their own schedules. Kelly Kahl, the chief scheduler for CBS, said “it seems more and more like a tip ping point†with the three days of delayed viewing now looking like what seven days' worth of delay looked like last season.
That matters, because advertisers pay for only three days of delay â€" and only for the commercials that are not skipped when the shows are played back.
With that in mind, the initial results from this Sunday had to be considered through the prism of likely gains for many of the shows.
As it was, several favorite series, including the ABC dramas “Once Upon a Time†and “Revenge,†and the venerable animated hit “The Simpsons†on Fox, returned Sunday night with favorable ratings results, while a few others, like “The Good Wife†and “The Mentalist†on CBS and “Family Guy†on Fox, showed declines from last year in the overnight ratings from Sunday night.
One new entry, ABC's “666 Park Avenue,†struggled in its first outing. But that was only what could be gleaned from same-day results.
Sunday was a lso an especially competitive night, thanks to one of the biggest Sunday Night Football games ever on NBC, and the return of “Dexter†and “Homeland†on Showtime. Both those series showed gains over last year (again before delayed viewing is factored in,) with 2.4 million viewers for the 9 p.m. showing of “Dexter,†up 10 percent from last year, and 1.73 million at 10 p.m. for “Homeland,†up 60 percent from last year.
