There'll likely be even more said about time-shifting this television season, now that the broadcast networks are downplaying next-day ratings more than ever and offering projections of DVR performance.
And in many cases, there's good reason for that. The first round of live-plus-three day ratings (the tally of viewers watching a show the night it airs and/or any of the subsequent three following days) are in for the first premiere week of Monday. Jumping to to the head of the class is Fox's Gotham.
With a lift of 56 percent and 1.8 points in the key demo of adults 18-49, Gotham saw the biggest percentage surge of any show that night and the most raw growth of any show but The Big Bang Theory. Its 5.0 rating among adults under 50 now tops Scorpion (up 44 percent to a 4.6 rating) and The Blacklist (up 44 percent to a 4.9 rating).
Other series in much better shape include Sleepy Hollow, which rose 50 percent from its softer sophomore entry to a 3.0 rating in the key demo, and Forever. The ABC drama, which aired twice last week, was up 41 percent to a 2.4 rating among adults 18-49. (That's just a shade behind the lifted finale of Under the Dome.)
Even reality is seeing bigger than typical lifts with adults 18-49. Dancing With the Stars again climbed nearly 20 percent, while The Voice registered a nearly 30 percent boost in the live-plus-threes.
The fact that unscripted is becoming more time-shifted may offer some consolation to The Amazing Race. It returned to the schedule on Friday night (alone with the rest of the CBS lineup), down significantly in its move from Sunday. The show took a 1.1 rating with adults 18-49.
Drama's Hawaii Five-0 and Blue Bloods, averaging a respective 1.3 and 1.2 rating with adults 18-49, were also off from last fall — by a respective three- and five-tenths of a point. Neither typically sees as strong of a DVR lift as most dramas, but CBS projects growth of 59 and 45 percent for the pair.
Shark Tank, topping all broadcast competition, held last year's fall opener of a 1.8 rating with adults 18-49. With a strong 20/20 (1.6 adults), the network easily topped the night in the key demo.
Utopia was improved from last week, though the Fox freshman is still rating dangerously low. It pulled a 0.7 rating in the key demo against the increased competition.
