“In another indication of changing viewing habits, shows are capturing viewers up to five weeks after they air,” reports The Hollywood Reporter.

In a scoop, Rick Porter writes, “Nielsen measures viewing out to 35 days — five weeks — after a show’s initial airdate. Those additional four weeks don’t bring huge ratings bumps the way three- and seven-day figures can [but] they do, in fact, continue to move the needle.

“The effect is more pronounced among adults 18-49, the demographic group advertisers pay a premium to reach, than it is among viewers as a whole. Per Nielsen, primetime dramas in the fourth quarter of 2018 rose 60 percent among adults 18-49 after 35 days, and comedies grew by 36 percent. In both cases, those gains outpaced the total-viewer lifts, which were 45 percent for dramas and 23 percent for comedies.

The story adds, “‘The Big Bang Theory’s’ final season had the largest audience at all three Nielsen benchmarks, going from 13.67 million same-day viewers to 18 million after seven days and topping 20 million (20.07 million, to be precise) after five weeks. The CBS comedy’s 2.07 million viewer gain in weeks two through five was also the largest on the list.

“Six series — ‘The Good Doctor,’ ‘The Rookie,’ ‘Yellowstone’ and NBC’s ‘Manifest,’ ‘New Amsterdam’ and ‘The Blacklis’ — at least doubled their total audiences over 35 days. The first eight episodes of ‘Yellowstone’s’ second season almost tripled, going from 2.29 million viewers for initial airings to 6.51 million after 35 days.”

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