MTV’s ‘Scream’ season 2 finale ratings are in; are season 3 odds any better?

Prior to the season 2 finale of “Scream” on MTV, we did our part to make an impassioned plea to fans out there: Watch the show live. It’s not all that complicated. Yes, we know that streams / Twitter impressions / DVR ratings and all of that jazz happens, but making revenue on television is still an old-school model. Advertisements on the air trump everything. It’s harder to skip or mute them live unless you’re really obsessive with the remote. They make the most money, and therefore they are the most important.

If you build it, they will come — or in other words, if you watch “Scream” live, odds are MTV will want to make more.

Did that happen for Tuesday’s finale, based on preliminary numbers? Well … let’s just say that there is not too huge of a difference. The show as a whole drew a 0.2 rating, which is the TV equivalent of a drop in the ocean. It’s what the show averaged for all of season 2, but you’re still talking a drop of more than 40% versus season 1. The total viewer count was slightly below 345,000 for last night, and that is actually a DROP versus the prior week. (Insert sad facial expression here.)

Are there excuses? Sure, there’s the Olympics, the election, good weather, and blah blah blah. That’s literally what most network executives think about excuses.

Ultimately, we’ve made it perfectly clear over the course of several articles at CarterMatt that having more “Scream” to cover would be a joy. Unfortunately, our personal-horror-story of no season 3 may be coming true, and this upcoming Halloween special could be network-speak for “way to wrap things up so that fans won’t be as angry.” We’re grateful we have it, so better enjoy in case the worst-case scenario goes down.

Interested in getting some other news pertaining to “Scream”? Then we advise you to check out our archive! Goodness lies within.

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