Will Outlander season 5 hiatus help or hurt the ratings?
Related Outlander video – Check out some more news when it comes it the season 5 filming timeline in our latest video below! Also, remember to subscribe to CarterMatt on YouTube so you don’t miss out on our Outlander videos that we will be posting throughout the hiatus and be sure to check out our official show playlist.
Now, let’s take a look at the question at the top of this article: Will having such a long Droughtlander help or hurt the show in terms of its viewership? Note here that we’re not so much talking about the live+same-day ratings here — those numbers do matter and are still finicky. We wouldn’t be shocked if those are down in season 5 just because fewer and fewer people are watching traditional TV. Before long, we could have an atmosphere where streaming really takes over just about everything that’s out there on the map.
The advantage, of course, to a long hiatus is that you can find a way to get some more new viewers on board who are discovering and binge watching the show in the off season. This is something that has shown itself to be useful to shows like Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones, who each improved their viewership pretty dramatically following some long breaks. If you have a product that is entertaining and mainstream enough, you’re capable of getting a larger audience over time. We do think that Outlander is capable of that, but it will need a continuous marketing campaign and also a lot of support from critics and perhaps awards shows to make it happen. One of the assets that Game of Thrones / Breaking Bad had during their meteoric rise was that the media was almost constantly discussing the two of them.
As for the disadvantage to the break, the simple answer there is that viewers move on to other things and don’t come back. This is dangerous mostly to shows that either are of subpar quality, or ones that have a very specific cultural zeitgeist. A series that caters more to a young audience (for example) always runs the risk of losing viewers as people age and move on to other pursuits. Luckily, we don’t think that either one of these issues apply to Outlander and in the end, the show should end up being just fine.
For now, our feeling is that the Outlander season 5 hiatus will have little impact on the ratings, one way or another — if the show does lose some viewers during the break, we think they’ll be replaced by some new ones. Based on recent trends and the unfortunate snubbing that Outlander has received from some awards shows, we don’t see the needle moving too much one way or another.
Related News – Check out some off-season roles that would be perfect for Caitriona Balfe
Do you think that the Outlander season 5 hiatus is going to prove to be either helpful or hurtful to the show’s numbers? Be sure to share right now in the attached comments. (Photo: Starz.)