EXCLUSIVE: It seems to be like The Ground has not but hit its success ceiling, because the Rob Lowe-hosted sport present continues to develop its viewers with Season 2.
Wednesday evening’s episode was the most-watched because the second season premiered in September, drawing 2.2M complete viewers, in response to stay + same-day Nielsen information. In actual fact, the episode tied with the premiere for the season’s largest viewers to-date.
However, the place Fox is admittedly seeing a promising efficiency is within the delayed numbers. The Ground is at present the highest sport present throughout broadcast and cable after seven days of viewing. The Ground Season 2 premiere is up 123% from its stay+same-day viewers after 35 days of multi-platform viewing, indicating that the sport present remains to be discovering an viewers nicely after its authentic broadcast airing.
Lowe attributes a lot of the success of The Ground to its sturdy co-viewing, as the sport present attracts viewers from all age demographics, which he thinks is changing into more and more uncommon within the TV panorama.
“My large takeaway is what number of households are watching this present collectively, and in a world the place our leisure decisions have gotten increasingly more segregated and siloed off, a present that multi-generations are watching collectively and loving equally is a present,” he tells Deadline.
That, and sport exhibits, together with sports activities and different competitors sequence, are a number of the few packages left that incentivize audiences to tune in day-and-date, in order that they don’t get spoiled on the end result by ready to look at.
“In case you’re a fan and also you wish to know who gained the season finale, you higher tune in, otherwise you would possibly hear about it on social media or no matter,” he defined. “It’s tremendous uncommon.”
Lowe likened internet hosting the sport present to “being an air visitors controller whereas doing a one man present,” explaining that it’s “a lot extra difficult than I ever thought it will be, which is why I’m nonetheless doing it, as a result of I like that. I get bored actually simply.”
The Ground isn’t alone in boosting Fox’s Wednesday rankings. The Masked Singer Season 12 can also be pulling its weight, with the premieres of each sequence main Fox to ship its most-watched Wednesday with leisure programming in 9 months within the 35-day viewing window.
It’s simple to see why The Ground was concurrently renewed for Seasons 2 and three, which Lowe teases will guarantee the sport present runs successfully all 12 months. He additionally says he doesn’t take as a right the “vote of confidence” from Fox to present the sequence time to develop.
“I bear in mind the previous days, when you have been a success, ‘two seasons, right here we go,’ however at this time, boy, no, they sweat you over one,” he stated. “However to get the 2 seasons, and never solely that, what I really like is that they’re going to run them concurrently. So actually successfully, it’s only one large season.”
Lowe has an unscripted first look deal on the community, and he tells Deadline he’s already workshopping different sport exhibits that he’d be all for creating. One, he says, even got here to him in a dream.
“I’m going wherever the muse takes me,” he says.
