‘Criminal Minds’ continues ratings slide; is it due to Thomas Gibson’s exit or something else?

Let’s start off this article with a clear reminder that ratings are often a baffling business to try to understand, since there is never a single show on TV that is influenced by only one factor, positively or negatively. We’re also in an era where the ratings for many shows out there are down significantly. Netflix in some ways has spoiled us from wanting to watching a live program with commercials. That’s a bummer — we do like the community aspect that comes with watching live TV — but it’s a reality.

Now, let’s try to get into the conundrum that is the ratings for “Criminal Minds” so far this season. Wednesday night’s episode drew just a 1.3 rating in the 18-49 demographic, its lowest rating of the season. Not only that, but it’s the lowest rating we’ve seen for the show since we started being able to fully track all of that data. It’s hard to easily check on series lows for shows that have been around this long, but if it’s not its lowest live rating to date, it’s up there.

To date, “Criminal Minds” season 12 is down over 12% from season 11, which was in turn down 16% from season 10. So, with that in mind, it may not be completely fair to blame this decline solely on the exit of star Thomas Gibson from the show. Do we think that it’s having an impact? Absolutely. It’s creating apathy and frustration among fans about the fabric of their show changing. We weren’t there to witness the events that led to his dismissal, so it’s irresponsible for us to say whether or not the right move was made and the right punishment handed down. All we can do is objectively look at the numbers and say that it’s having an impact.

One other factor that you may still have to look at is the departure of Shemar Moore. The ratings did decline slightly last season after his departure, though not on this level. There could be some carryover from that into this season.

Here’s the argument to make against these exits having a big impact: The show’s lowest rating last fall, a 1.5, came in early November, around the same time of the year. You can easily make the argument that all of the recent hiatuses have caused a ton of confusion. You can also just argue that viewer fatigue is playing a big role, and numbers even with Gibson and Moore still around would be down. To a certain extent, we buy that — but we’re not sure they’d be down as much.

Why do you think that “Criminal Minds” is seeing declines in live viewing? Vote below, and click here to see more news on the show. (Photo: CBS.)