Ratings: ‘Survivor Cambodia: Second Chance’ finale solid, but down slightly (12/16/2015)

The final numbers for the “Survivor Cambodia: Second Chance” finale are in, and for the most part, it’s good news … unless of course you are one of those people who really like to freak out about the smallest of decreases.

Yes, the 2.2 rating in the 18-49 is the lowest for a season finale to date, but let’s put this in some perspective: The “Worlds Apart” finale drew a 2.3, “San Juan del Sur” a 2.4, “Cagayan” a 2.6, “Blood vs. Water” a 2.6, “Caramoan” a 2.7, “Philippines” a 3.3, and “One World” a 2.9. (That’s as far back as we went for this particular ratings deep-dive.) Ultimately, you can see some viewer erosion there, but wen you compare this to declines of some other seasons, it’s really not so bad. One other thing to remember here is that only for the past few seasons have the finales aired on Wednesday; they used to air on Sundays, which was slightly better real estate.

What we have learned over the years is that having an All-Star cast does not typically mean better ratings; instead, it is more about providing great fan service.

While looking at the “Survivor” ratings themselves should provide a little bit of optimism that it will be around a long time, there are other encouraging signs, as well. This rating is the strongest total for any CBS show so far this week, and while “The Big Bang Theory” is sure to defeat it tonight, it’s still going to be fairly commendable. When the dust settles, the amount of repeats on this week probably ensures more than the series finishes among the top 10 rated shows this week in the demo.

If you missed it, we did exit interviews with all of the top 6 “Survivor” players over at this link! You can also sign up here to get some more TV scoop on all we cover, sent right to you via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: CBS.)