MTV’s ‘Scream’ season 2 ratings: Are season 3 odds increasing as we approach finale?

Based on the internet reaction we’ve seen so far to “Scream” and its ratings, the one thing we do know is that viewers who are watching the show are very much invested in wanting to see it back. However, at the same time that doesn’t mean that there are enough of them for MTV to greenlight another season.

If you’re looking in terms of week-to-week improvements, there is something good to report on the heels of Tuesday night’s new episode. The show did manage to stay steady at around a 0.2 rating in the 18-49 demographic, and also improved almost 10% in total viewers to close to 350,000 viewers.

Here’s the bad news: These are still not-great numbers for any scripted drama, especially one that airs on a major cable network. The show is also still down in live+same day ratings more than 40% in the demo from season 1, and almost 50% in total viewers.

If next week’s finale does turn out to be the end for the series, then hopefully there will at least be some closure in terms of the identity of the Killer. If we were to autopsy now what happened to cause the ratings to go down this season as opposed to last summer, we’d chalk it up to three separate things.

1. Natural viewer fatigue – On average, shows do tend to decline year to year, especially during the summer when there are so many options.
2. A particularly competitive summer – This summer in particular, we’ve felt like the presence of so many other things, whether it be discussion on the election to the Olympics to even something outdoorsy and social like Pokemon GO, have all been factors impacting the TV business. We’ve seen many shows have hefty drops.
3. Scheduling – We still don’t think it was the right move to start of season 2 in a late-night timeslot. Even though many MTV viewers are up late in the summer, you’re still appealing to a relatively small pool.

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