Deep Space Nine Shines in Syndication

After losing an uphill battle with Xena and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys for the past two years, Deep Space Nine reclaims its position as the #1 syndicated drama for its seventh and final season. Beginning with a tight gap among the three shows at the start of season 7, Deep Space Nine finally outranked Xena and Hercules in the November sweeps period, earning a 4.6 average household rating. Xena followed DS9 with a 4.5, while Hercules fell to the third spot with a 4.0. But DS9's winning streak continued in head-to- head competition following the November sweeps in reruns and first-run episodes, with Hercules falling to a distant third, and Xena battling DS9 neck-to-neck for the number one spot. The two latest first-run episodes, "It's Only a Paper Moon," and "Prodigal Daughter" easily defeated Xena, reestablishing the number one spot for Paramount's syndicated drama series.

But fierce competition between the three shows has also had its share of costs. To begin with, all three shows have seen a noticeable loss of their viewing audience. Both Hercules and Xena are down in year-to-year household viewers. And DS9 continued its year-to-year viewer loss trend that started in season one. However, the downward trend is not limited to syndication as the top 5 TV networks have continued to see less viewers tuning in each year.

With a continuous lead in the Male 18-49 demographic, which is considered even more important to advertisers than household ratings, and a leading position in the syndicated market, DS9 might not end its run so gloriously as Star Trek: The Next Generation, but it will end it as a winner.

*Special thanks to Greg Fuller for providing Nielsen data information at Star Trek Nielsen Rating Information Data Base.
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