‘NCIS’ season 11 debate: Will Cote de Pablo’s exit impact ratings?
As a TV ratings junkie, it is always interesting to see the impact that change can have on a series … though more often than not, many have determined that change is not necessarily good. Just look at the sentiment of “Happy Days” fans following the exit of Ron Howard, or “That 70’s Show” for the season that it had largely without both Ashton Kutcher and Topher Grace.
Now, the latest question comes to us via “NCIS” and Cote de Pablo. There’s little questioning that Ziva David is popular, and some of the passionate fans on Twitter have made this very apparent time and time again just how much they miss the character already, but is this really going to make a major impact in the show’s ratings this coming year? There are a few interesting factors to consider here.
Twitter and ratings do not go hand in hand – “Pretty Little Liars” is among the most-social shows on TV, but it only gets a small fraction of the ratings “NCIS” does. Meanwhile, the Teen Choice Awards tanked this year, and that was after trending for most of the summer. There’s a difference between talking about things and watching, so don’t assume that Twitter reaction to Cote’s exit means anything.
Expect big ratings for the first two episodes – As sad as it may be that Cote is leaving, the storm surrounding her exit may actually be a good thing for CBS. The first two episodes, starting with the September 24 premiere, will be all about her exit, and this could lead to a surge in viewers. When you consider that ABC has a serious threat airing at the same time in “Agents of SHIELD,” they need to make sure that they retain a large audience.
“NCIS” was there first – Remember here that Cote did not exactly start off the show with the rest of the cast. She came in after the fact; if you liked the series before, odds are that you are going to like it again. As liked as she may be, there is no reason to lack confidence in Gary Glasberg and his team to keep things going strong. They created every character on this show (including Ziva), and 20 million viewers on a weekly basis cannot be wrong.
Do you think that losing Ziva will help or hurt the “NCIS” ratings? Be sure to vote in our poll below! Also, click here if you want to read more about the successor to Cote’s character, and what impact they could have on the show.
Photo: CBS
Guestie
August 25, 2013 @ 6:04 pm
Don’t suppose the poll reflects the fact that those who sought out this strike & took time to vote are more apt to be Cote fans than not…
The End
August 20, 2013 @ 1:42 am
I started watching season 3 because of Ziva David I remember back in the day when Sasha Alexander’s character was on it was a good episode but, not much of a impact for me to watch .Fast forward a year later I was channel surfing I remember watching the episode(Civil War) of NCIS did not know of Ziva yet but, she got my attention and for me to tune in. But, now that she no longer will be on will just watch the 2 two episodes in clips on Youtube. Thanks for the 8 year ride NCIS :)
dolcevitagrd
August 20, 2013 @ 12:33 am
I have heard so many people say that they won’t continue to watch the show without Cote. Cote has made this show better. With Cote, this show has succeeded. Every year getting better and better. I have no idea how this show will intrest me as much. I know I will continue to watch, I’m here till the end. But not with as much enthusiasm as before. Although that may not matter when it comes to ratings. I know ziva/tiva haters must be having a ball. I think that this show needs Cote/Ziva because she has shown that with every year since she has been a part of the show, it gets so much better.
4luvofncis
August 19, 2013 @ 10:00 pm
I don’t know how many people have taken this poll, but no one’s vote can be counted twice if they are using the same IP address. So, I think that speaks for itself. Minority? Small group of ardent fans? Petition only at 15,000? Yeah, it’s not a small group of ardent fans. Petition can’t reach majority. If it was posted on the NCIS Facebook page, I guarantee you it would be at least 100,000 or more. 2/3rds is getting pretty clear. See the Facebook page. See this poll. NCIS was rated in top 8 in social media one week because of this topic. And most of the viewers don’t even know yet. Why would they advertise TIVA so much if they weren’t aware of how many viewers were drawn by this? Think about it.
tony d
August 19, 2013 @ 5:31 pm
it’s called NCIS not the Ziva show. she took the place of Kate and people said the same thing. actually a great number of fans hated Ziva.. they grew to lover her. they want a relationship with Tony. It’s a crime show they solve crimes not a love drama. Many fans tolerate the Tiva stuff but they would rather just have a little flirting and interesting story line. TIVA fans are a vocal bunch for sure and if all they ever watched the show for was a tiva hookup then they may no longer have a reason to watch after the 2nd episode. that would also mean they aren’t fans of the show just fans of a tiva hookup. True fans will still watch and the numbers may or may not drop mostly depending on what competition they have on Tuesday night.
Anne
August 19, 2013 @ 8:36 am
“Any publicity is good publicity,” as the saying goes. There is an on-going, very vocal protest from some fans who want the network to bring back Cote. They have succeeded in: getting Les Moonves, the head of CBS, to address her departure at the Television Critics of America annual fall preview; trending the topic on Twitter; sending thousands of pieces of mail to anyone involved with NCIS; and garnering 15,000 signatures on an online petition.
While fifteen thousand signatures is a considerable number of people, But NCIS has 21 million viewers. (Other figures state the at season-end there were 22 million, but I’m being conservative.) That means that the signature was signed by 0.0007 % of the viewers.
There is a possibility, in my opinion, that this may cause other, less ardent fans, to start tuning in to see what the fuss is or what the show is like without Ziva.
Elana
August 19, 2013 @ 12:33 pm
And don’t forget that that is 15,000 worldwide signatures against 21 million US viewers. The proportion of US signatures is therefore even lower than that and they are the only ones who can impact of NCIS’s US ratings.
Bellz Webster
August 19, 2013 @ 5:20 am
I think once the first episodes air that the Ziva/Tiva lovers will take their bat and ball and go else where. I think for a time the ratings might fall some, but once the air cools and things fall into place with well written, interesting stories, as always, they will for sure pick up again. NCIS is about all the other characters as well, and these actors have given as much with their characters as did Cote for hers. It will have to be up to the ‘powers that be’ and the writers to give interesting and clever stories. Its just my opinion, but I feel for the most part of season 11, more stand alone crime stories rather than character stories might be the better way to go. I just hope they don’t rush in a new character too soon. Tread the waters and see what the feel is with fans about the two new characters they have lined up so far. There is no hurry for season 11, after all we want NCIS around for a good number of years yet. No matter what they do or how hard they try, you are never going to please everyone. There will always be the whingers about everything. I loved Ziva, but I do feel there were too many episodes involving her character. Perhaps there will now be more of a happy medium with the other characters, like it use to be.
QueeRevolutionary
August 19, 2013 @ 4:11 am
If CBS still continues to to try to charge Time Warner Cable way too much to broadcast in NYC, LA & Chicago in September, there will be no way to know for sure if NCIS is impacted by Cote De Pablo being fired since CBS is not shown in those markets.
Bellz Webster
August 19, 2013 @ 5:28 am
Cote de Pablo was NOT fired from CBS. Please get your facts straight. Cote left because of a few reasons, she wanted to have equal pay with Michael Weatherly, and she only wanted a 1 year contract, CBS wanted her to sign for more, Cote also wanted less storylines because she wanted to spend more time with her Chilean family and her fiancee’.
Elana
August 19, 2013 @ 12:29 pm
Are you saying that she wanted equal pay to Michael’s but with less commitment and for less hours than he does? That doesn’t sound much like equality to me.
Anne
August 19, 2013 @ 8:36 am
The black-out is not total, just from providers associated with Time-Warner Cable. I am not in one of the black-out cities, but if I were I would just switch providers so that I could see CBS programming (and other channels like Showtime).
DA Max
August 18, 2013 @ 10:09 pm
The show is about much more than one character, so anyone who leaves simply because Ziva is gone, was never a fan of the “show” to begin with. I’m actually excited for the time in several years. Now hopefully the show will go back to the great character-driven show with clever stories that I fell in love with years ago.
BJG77
August 18, 2013 @ 8:27 pm
I guess the question is how many people watch just for Ziva? I don’t believe it’s in the millions so if it’s 50,000 then I can’t see the ratings being affected.
annsan
August 18, 2013 @ 7:13 pm
well we already know that those who only watch the show for ziva and tiva claim to be leaving. the interesting question is actually will those who stopped watching because they were sick of all the focus on that awful character and idiotically fake pairing now come back.