So who watches Syfy’s movies? Older dudes, mostly. According to TV research firm Horizon Media, viewers of Syfy original movies have an average age of 52. But Sharknado may have broken the mold; the movie blew up on Twitter last night, giving the impression that everyone with a TV was watching it. “Omg omg OMG #sharknado,” Mia Farrow tweeted last night, while Washington Post political reporter Chris Cillizza joked that he was writing an article about how Sharknado would affect the 2016 elections. But were all these people actually watching? According to the Los Angeles Times, Sharknado was watched by only 1 million people, which makes it a bust, even by Syfy standards. Most Syfy originals have an average viewership of 1.5 million people, with some getting twice that.
They got some damned enviable buzz, though. I have no idea whether Nielsen regularly revises its early numbers.
H/T:
Overnight ratings show "Sharknado" drew just 1 million viewers, "a bust, even by Syfy standards" http://t.co/7lxYTevvDb via @BW
— Joshua Green (@JoshuaGreen) July 12, 2013