Outlander season 4 episode 2 ratings preview: Hopes for ‘Do No Harm’
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Before diving too deep with predictions, let’s discuss some frequently-asked questions. When we discuss the official live+same-day ratings here, they are really a small sample of the show’s overall viewership figures. They are only for America and beyond that, they are only for official viewings at 8:00 p.m. on Starz. They don’t include people who watch the series beforehand on the app or On-Demand. This does complicate viewership figures, especially when so many people opt to watch the show beforehand (really, who wants to wait after we all waited so long for new episodes?).
How we really consider these ratings is a measurement for how casual viewers watch this show more so than anything else. After all, the majority of diehard fans have already seen the episodes by the time in which 8:00 p.m. rolls around. Having the casual base is important for Outlander since it adds to its overall word-of-mouth traffic. Some of these viewers watch after the fact, as well, but there is a nice contingent of people who check it out live.
How important are live viewers ultimately?
We do think that they do offer up a nice gauge proportionally of viewers watching the series, but for most premium cable series they are not a great judge of whether or not a series stays on the air or if it gets canceled. For Starz, what matters most are the subscriptions that the series brings in and Outlander brings in plenty. There’s nothing really to be concerned about with the show’s future because of that. Think of these ratings reports (which we publish in full on Tuesdays once full numbers are in) as almost guidelines to the show’s cultural impact (as in a small sample of it) rather than a determination of whether or not it will get a season 7. After all, Starz has already renewed it through season 6.
Our ratings prediction for now
The premiere ended up drawing 1.08 million viewers, which is a pretty sizable drop in live viewership from season 3 on average. It’s too hard to ask this show to all of a sudden surge upward to 1.3 or 1.4 million viewers again just one week. Nonetheless, we do predict that the ratings will rise up a little bit, potentially to around 1.15 million or so. There may have been some on premiere week who hadn’t heard the series was back or were sucked in to Sunday night NFL programming. It’s a little unusual for ratings to rise after the first week, so we’re taking a small gamble with our prediction here.
Related – Check out our latest photo preview for season 4 episode 2
What do you think the Outlander season 4 episode 2 ratings are going to be on Starz? Be sure to sound off right now in the attached comments. (Photo: Starz.)