Thursday, December 23, 2021

The Wire (HBO): Ratings Recap

HBO's 'The Wire' premiered June 2, 2002 to 3.66 million viewers and remained in the high 2 millions for the first few episodes before gaining a strong 'Sex and the City' lead-in on July 21, 2002 which helped it soar into high-3 millions/low-4 millions for the rest of its inaugural season. A second season aired in 2003 with the same 'Sex' lead-in and the ratings actually saw a nice year-to-year rise: averaging 3.71 million viewers vs. 3.37 million in 2002. The show's first real test came in 2004's third season which was the first to air without a strong lead-in. That season began with just 1.83 million viewers - a far cry from the 4.48 million for the second season closer - and averaged about 1.5 million viewers. Despite this, the show was renewed for a fourth season which aired in 2006 and saw a slight increase in viewership (to 1.53 million on-average), but this gain was erased by the time the fifth season aired in 2008. That final season saw viewership fall to a new low of 534,000 and the season as a whole averaged under 1 million viewers. Note: ratings switch from HH to 18-49 beginning with the season 4 table.

The Wire Season 1 Ratings (2002)
Episode DateViewers (millions)HH rating
Jun. 2, 20023.6632.3
Jun. 9, 20022.7991.8
Jun. 16, 20022.6331.7
Jun. 23, 20022.9101.9
Jun. 30, 20022.9651.9
Jul. 7, 20022.9822.0
Jul. 21, 20024.1242.4
Jul. 28, 20023.3052.3
Aug. 4, 20023.4182.3
Aug. 11, 20024.1452.8
Aug. 18, 20023.4312.3
Sept. 1, 20023.6552.4
Sept. 8, 20023.7702.5
Average3.372.2

The Wire Season 2 Ratings (2003)
Episode DateViewers (millions)HH rating
Jun. 1, 20034.4302.8
Jun. 8, 20033.4922.2
Jun. 15, 20032.6411.8
Jun. 22, 20034.3322.9
Jun. 29, 20033.6182.5
Jul. 6, 20034.1092.8
Jul. 13, 20033.5192.3
Jul. 27, 20033.6432.6
Aug. 3, 20033.0402.1
Aug. 10, 20033.5062.4
Aug. 17, 20033.6992.4
Aug. 24, 20034.4833.0
Average3.712.5

The Wire Season 3 Ratings (2004)
Episode DateViewers (millions)HH rating
Sept. 19, 20041.8261.2
Sept. 26, 20041.2471.0
Oct. 3, 20041.5391.1
Oct. 10, 20041.4471.0
Oct. 17, 20041.3410.9
Oct. 31, 20041.4230.9
Nov. 7, 20041.0410.8
Nov. 14, 20041.4711.0
Nov. 21, 20041.6521.2
Nov. 28, 20041.6671.1
Dec. 12, 20042.0401.2
Dec. 19, 20041.3330.9
Average1.491.0

The Wire Season 4 Ratings (2006)
Episode DateViewers (millions)18-49 rating
Sept. 10, 20061.5300.8
Sept. 17, 20061.7640.9
Sept. 24, 20061.3680.7
Oct. 1, 20061.5100.8
Oct. 8, 20061.4080.7
Oct. 15, 20061.4300.7
Oct. 29, 20061.4360.7
Nov. 5, 20061.2260.7
Nov. 12, 20061.5510.7
Nov. 19, 20061.6660.9
Nov. 26, 20061.5780.8
Dec. 3, 20061.4510.7
Dec. 10, 20061.9391.0
Average1.530.8

The Wire Season 5 Ratings (2008)
Episode DateViewers (millions)18-49 rating
Jan. 6, 20081.2340.6
Jan. 13, 20081.1850.6
Jan. 20, 20080.8460.5
Jan. 27, 20081.2820.7
Feb. 3, 20080.5340.3
Feb. 10, 20080.7380.3
Feb. 17, 20080.5700.3
Feb. 24, 20080.6850.4
Mar. 2, 20080.7060.3
Mar. 9, 20081.1190.6
Average0.890.5

Source: Nielsen Media Research

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