How did The Last Ship season 4 fare against NFL football?

We’ve been tracking The Last Ship season 4 ratings for a long time, even if we are well aware of the fact that it has been renewed already for a fifth season. We’re a ratings junkie for one, and beyond that we want to see the show have some steady performances so that there is a chance for a sixth season down the line.

Unfortunately, in terms of live+same-day ratings we’re a little bit bummed out to see the show’s performance being what it is. This past episode was the first time this season that the show’s been up against NFL primetime regular-season programming, and our concern here was that many of the viewers who enjoy this show would also be football fans. The ratings seemed to prove that true. In the 18-49 demographic the show tied its lowest ratings of the season with a 0.3, and in total viewers it posted a series-low 1.46 million. There are obvious some other ratings variables that do matter here, whether we are talking about DVR ratings or internet streams after the fact. For the sake of this article, though, our focus is almost entirely on how the show is performing in the moment, and with people choosing to check it out live.

If we had one big takeaway from the numbers so far this season, it’s that TNT made a questionable move shelving the show until later in the summer. While we are well aware that Claws had the timeslot of The Last Ship earlier in the summer, we don’t understand why you couldn’t turn the night into an event where one of the shows ended up benefiting the other. The Last Ship started the summer against Game of Thrones, then aired on Labor Day Weekend, and now is up against the NFL for the remainder of the season. Any series would struggle against this sort of competition, and it’s especially the case here given that we’re talking about a show that isn’t used to starting out this late in the year. If there is one thing that viewers love, it is a routine.

One other silver lining for The Last Ship is that in the next couple of weeks, it may be up against some NFL games that are not the Dallas Cowboys vs. the New York Giants. That’s the sort of programming that swallows even more than the average game.

What do you think about the latest The Last Ship season 4 ratings?

Be sure to share some of your thoughts on them now in the comments!

Meanwhile, you can head over to the link here in the event that you do want to preview even more of what is coming on the next new episode of the show. (Photo: TNT.)