'Duck Dynasty' returns to big ratings drop....

[a kennedy]

It looks like Duck Dynasty patriarch Phil Robertson's anti-gay sentiments and the controversy they created may have had a serious effect on viewers after all.

The Season 5 premiere on Wednesday of the A&E reality show drew 8.5 million viewers, down sharply from the nearly 12 million that tuned in for the Season 4 opener in August. Despite the decline, that's still a healthy number, but industry experts expected to see the same viewership as before, if not better. To be fair, last winter's premiere of the show drew 8.6 million viewers.

The premiere, titled "Boomerang Becca," focused on Rebecca Robertson, an exchange student Willie and Korie adopted 10 years ago, who returned from fashion interning in Los Angeles after two years. Also new to the gang was John David, a relative of Korie's who was the focus of the second episode of the night, taking the job of Willie's new assistant.

Patriarch Phil didn't have a huge role, but did appear in the opening scene of the first episode and closed out the second with one of the family's famous prayers.

Duck Dynasty is ranked as the No. 2 series on cable TV, behind The Walking Dead, with an average of 13.4 million viewers.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2014/01/16/duck-dynasty-return-sees-big-ratings-drop/4526639/

This is some good news.

[SoCalNative]

1. Yeah, but all of the FReepers

and fundies are claiming it's because they're boycotting A&E, trying to get the show moved to another network.

[JeffHead]

2. Is that show still on?

[joeybee12]

3. KNR!

[kelly1mm]

4. Just for perspective, that is still 3.5 time as many people who watched Fox News

and 9 time as many that watched MSNBC for primetime (Mondays numbers for comparison).

Still, a drop off in ratings has to be a good thing!

[NightWatcher]

5. hey lookie ma, them wannabe rednecks acting like rednecks

Whodathunk it

[madokie]

6. Can't say as I've ever watched it

don't care if I ever do now. In fact I'll make it a point to not watch it now. Anyone who is going to talk shit about my brothers and sisters because of something they have no control over is not going to be met with hugs or smiles by me. F* 'm
Life's too short to put up with bigots and assholes.

[arthritisR_US]

18. +100!

[SoCalDem]

7. Good! May the ratings continue to drop like a rock

and when renewal time comes up, they may go away completely, and have to start paying for their own business advertising.

[Whiskeytide]

8. I'd wager that any drop off...

... is likely more attributable to the revelations that they are fake rednecks, and not to Robinson's comments. I don't think the majority of the audience for that show cared about his comments, sadly. But they probably did care that they're preppies only pretending to be country folk. Color me cynical.

[Ikonoklast]

17. It's easy to fool stupid people who believe what they watch on TV to be the absolute truth.

Yep, that's them. Fake as can be.


A bunch of golf-playing preppies that traded in their Izods for camo when a television producer dangled millions in their faces.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

21. that was my thought too. nt

[onenote]

9. Not really a drop off.

While Season 4 started out strong with nearly 12 million viewers on the first episode, viewership was dropping throughout last year. Over the last five weeks, it averaged 8 million (and for the entire 11 week season, despite the strong first week, the average was only around 9.1 million). So I wouldn't read too much into the drop in terms of it being related to the controversy. I suspect the novelty of the show is wearing out, in part due to overexposure.

[Jenoch]

10. What surprises me is that the summer

episodes apparently have more viewers than the winter episodes.

[JI7]

12. maybe it is due to the bigoted comments

[Jenoch]

14. There were far fewer viewers in last

winter before the magazine article was published.

[JI7]

11. hopefully they will continue to go down

[jmowreader]

13. Let's wait for a few more reality shows' ratings to come in

People get tired of a particular reality show after a while. You can only watch so many motorcycles get built, tattoos put on or worldly possessions get pawned before you say, "okay I've seen this." And it looks like it's happening with guys who make duck calls, especially since the actual manufacture of duck calls is boring as hell.

[JI7]

15. only ones i can watch are ones like pawn stars or amazing race

and that's because of the focus on things, places, history, culture etc.

but i don't get the ones that follow people's lives. i do admit i enjoyed some of the duggars episodes though. especially when it seemed like the camera people and others were making fun of them.

[nyquil_man]

26. Yes. Reality shows are very formulaic,

even more so than sitcoms.

[Earth_First]

16. Duck, Duck, WHOOSH! nt

[herding cats]

19. So, are they a Dead Duck then?

A&E, this is what happens when you allow the most extreme, yet vocal, minorities coerce you into making bad decisions.

[City Lights]

20. Ha!

Sucks to suck.

[tosh]

22. Publicity Stunt Fail.

[Buns_of_Fire]

23. Obviously, they need a guest appearance by Honey Boo Boo.

Before Ron and Bobby show up to repossess their fleet of matching Beemers.

[Mrdrboi]

24. HA HA

[img][/img]

[Dawson Leery]

25. Walking Dead, Downton Abby, and Two Broke Girls still beat

THAT piece horse manure of a show.

The disgraced A&E's publicity stunt has failed!

[doc03]

27. I just don't get DD, I watched two episodes a couple weeks ago and

it is just stupid. Tonight I was determined to sit through another to see what I am not understanding about it, I was able to tolerate roughly 10 minutes. My take from the show is those people are yuppies that are actually mocking southern people and the people that watch it are too stupid to realize they are the butt of the joke. Am I wrong about that?

[1000words]

28. Whew ... crisis averted.

Fear not, another outrage will be along shortly.

[Blue Owl]

29. A farewell to fuckwaddery