Bachelors and virgins, that’s what television viewers love.
Only two series across all of broadcast TV’s entertainment offerings have actually grown their audience this season over the previous one: ABC’s “The Bachelor” and CW’s “Jane the Virgin.”
But how did those two very different shows pull such a feat off at a time when Nielsen numbers are shrinking everywhere you look? Very different ways, actually.
For “The Bachelor,” the answer seems to be all about Nick Viall. Ladies either love or hate the guy — or at least felt sorry for him — and ABC’s advertisers are pretty pumped about the 3 percent lift he’s delivered the long-running reality franchise.
Oh, if you didn’t get that sympathy reference, Nick was a runner-up on not one, but two seasons of sister program “The Bachelorette.” The disdain from others comes from the fact that Nick revealed on-air he slept with “Bachelorette” Andi Dorfman.
His “The Bachelor” episodes averaged a 3.1 rating in the key 18-49 demographic this season, which included one week’s worth of delayed viewing. That’s up just a hair from last year’s 3.0 — but it’s a distinctive uptick these days.
“Jane the Virgin” didn’t get anymore likable — it just got a more likable lead-in.
This season, the Gina Rodriguez dramedy (a 0.7, up 17 percent from last year’s 0.6) followed “Supergirl,” the former CBS show that provided a better lead-in than did last year’s “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.”
Every other returning show on broadcast TV drew fewer eyeballs than last season — some significantly fewer. “Supergirl” itself sunk a massive 58 percent this season versus last, when the Melissa Benoist show still aired on CBS. Seems like we’ve found the series’ Kryptonite.