Flo Nielsen ratings archive

[RetroGuy2000]

We know Flo ranked in the top 30 for its first season and not in the top 30 for its second.

I'll leave here some articles which give the weekly Nielsen breakdown for Flo.

The first one I have is from the Minneapolis Star from Feb 6, 1981 (reporting from the week before). It lists Flo at #58.

[JR1]

I've done research on Flo's ratings/performance for episodes' initial telecasts. If listed with a parentheses, it's the household rating/share of the TV audience watching the episode. For most weeks in the second season, the ranking is unknown; all that is known for the moment is that for those weeks, it was not in the bottom five programs.

The way it looks, it pulled respectable numbers in its Monday 8 p.m. slot, losing steam as the new year started. CBS then moved it to Saturday nights, where it dropped further. I mention what certain rankings scored in ratings for some weeks, as that show was the first listed among the bottom five for that week (showing that Flo scored at least higher than that number for the week).

If more info is found, I will update.

Season 1
"Homecoming," March 24, 1980
30.3/43 (No. 1; tied with lead-in M*A*S*H for the week)

"Showdown at the Yellow Rose," March 31, 1980
25.2/37 (No. 5 for the week)

"Happy Birthday, Mama," April 7, 1980
23.0/35, No. 9 for the week

"Take My Sister, Please, " April 14, 1980
19.1 rating, No. 18; the Academy Awards aired the same night. The official season ended April 20; average reported rating was 24.4 for four episodes.

"The Hero of Flo's Yellow Rose, " April 21, 1980
20.9/33, No. 8 for the week

"The Reunion," April 28, 1980
23.3, No. 4 for the week

Season 2
"The Enemy Below," Oct. 27, 1980
No. 28 out of 52 shows ranked for the week; No. 48 had a 12.9/22; Ladies' Man, which I believe aired after Flo, scored an 18.4/27 and ranked 28th.

"Farley, the People's Choice," Nov. 3, 1980
23.2/36, No. 13 out of 45 shows

"Bull is Back in Town," Nov. 17, 1980
No. 42 out of 60 shows ranked for the week; No. 56 had a 14.2/21

"A Castleberry Thanksgiving," Parts 1 and 2, Nov. 24, 1980
No. 29 out of 64 shows ranked for the week (looks like it registered as one hour, rather than two half-hours); No. 60 had a 13.2.22

"Willoughby vs. Willoughby," Dec. 1, 1980
Unknown; 65 shows ranked for the week; No. 61 had an 11.3/20

"So Long, Shorty," Dec. 8, 1980
No. 45 out of 66 shows ranked for the week; No. 62 had a 12.2/21; Ladies' Man ranked No. 47 for the week

"Deserted Islands," Dec. 15, 1980
Unknown

"The Miracle of Casa de Huevos," Dec. 22, 1980
18.8 rating, No. 19

"Grey Escape," Jan. 5, 1981
Unknown; 68 shows ranked for the week; No. 64 had a 12.3/20

"Pretty Baby," Jan. 12, 1981
No. 47 out of 67 shows ranked for the week; No. 63 had a 13.5/20

"Not with My Sister, You Don't," Jan. 26, 1981
No. 58 out of 67 shows; No. 63 had a 14.2/22

"The Price of Avocados: Part 1," Feb. 7, 1981
No. 56 out of 64 shows ranked; No. 60 had a 12.5/22

"The Price of Avocados: Part 2," Feb. 14, 1981
12.1/21, No. 63 out of 66 shows

"Welcome to the Club," Feb. 21, 1981
No. 62 out of 69 shows ranked for the week; No. 65 had a 12.7/23

"Gunsmoke at the Yellow Rose," Feb. 28, 1981
11.2/19, No. 59 out of 62 shows ranked for the week ; No. 62 had a 9.2/16

"What Are Friends For?" March 14, 1981
No. 49 out of 69 shows ranked for the week; No. 65 had a 10.5/17

"Just What the Doctor Ordered," March 21, 1981
No. 48 out of 63 shows ranked for the week; No. 59 had an 11.8/20

"Footsie," April 4, 1981
No. 55 out of 63 shows ranked for the week; No. 59 had a 10.9/17

"You Gotta Have Hoyt," April 11, 1981
No. 57 out of 64 shows ranked for the week; No. 60 had an 11.4/19

"Flo's Encounter of the Third Kind," April 18, 1981
10.9, No. 62 out of 70 shows

"No Men's Land," June 23, 1981
9.8, No. 57 out of 66 shows

"The Daynce," June 30, 1981
8.3, No. 61 out of 66 shows

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by JR1

I've done research on Flo's ratings/performance for episodes' initial telecasts. If listed with a parentheses, it's the household rating/share of the TV audience watching the episode. For most weeks in the second season, the ranking is unknown; all that is known for the moment is that for those weeks, it was not in the bottom five programs.

The way it looks, it pulled respectable numbers in its Monday 8 p.m. slot, losing steam as the new year started. CBS then moved it to Saturday nights, where it dropped further. I mention what certain rankings scored in ratings for some weeks, as that show was the first listed among the bottom five for that week (showing that Flo scored at least higher than that number for the week).

If more info is found, I will update.

Season 1
"Homecoming," March 24, 1980
30.3/43 (No. 1; tied with lead-in M*A*S*H for the week)

"Showdown at the Yellow Rose," March 31, 1980
25.2/37 (No. 5 for the week)

"Happy Birthday, Mama," April 7, 1980
23.0/35, No. 9 for the week

"Take My Sister, Please, " April 14, 1980
Unknown; the Academy Awards aired the same night. The official season ended April 20; thus, based on its season average of 24.4 (if for four episodes), we can guesstimate the rating to be in the neighborhood of a 19.7.

"The Hero of Flo's Yellow Rose, " April 21, 1980
20.9/33, No. 8 for the week

"The Reunion," April 28, 1980
23.3, No. 4 for the week

Season 2
"The Enemy Below," Oct. 27, 1980
Unknown; 52 shows ranked for the week; No. 48 had a 12.9/22; ladies' man, which I believe aired after Flo, scored an 18.4/27.

"Farley, the People's Choice," Nov. 3, 1980
23.2/36, No. 13 out of 45 shows

"Bull is Back in Town," Nov. 17, 1980
Unknown; 60 shows ranked for the week; No. 56 had a 14.2/21

"A Castleberry Thanksgiving," Parts 1 and 2, Nov. 24, 1980
Unknown; 64 shows ranked for the week; No. 60 had a 13.2.22

"Willoughby vs. Willoughby," Dec. 1, 1980
Unknown; 65 shows ranked for the week; No. 61 had an 11.3/20

"So Long, Shorty," Dec. 8, 1980
Unknown; 66 shows ranked for the week; No. 62 had a 12.2/21; Ladies' Man ranked No. 47 for the week

"Deserted Islands," Dec. 15, 1980
Unknown

"The Miracle of Casa de Huevos," Dec. 22, 1980
Unknown

"Grey Escape," Jan. 5, 1981
Unknown; 68 shows ranked for the week; No. 64 had a 12.3/20

"Pretty Baby," Jan. 12, 1981
Unknown; 67 shows ranked for the week; No. 63 had a 13.5/20

"Not with My Sister, You Don't," Jan. 26, 1981
No. 58 out of 67 shows; No. 63 had a 14.2/22

"The Price of Avocados: Part 1," Feb. 7, 1981
Unknown; 64 shows ranked; No. 60 had a 12.5/22

"The Price of Avocados: Part 2," Feb. 14, 1981
12.1/21, No. 63 out of 66 shows

"Welcome to the Club," Feb. 21, 1981
Unknown; 69 shows ranked for the week; No. 65 had a 12.7/23

"Gunsmoke at the Yellow Rose," Feb. 28, 1981
11.2/19, No. 59 out of 62 shows- ; No. 62 had a 9.2/16

"What Are Friends For?" March 14, 1981
Unknown; 69 shows ranked for the week; No. 65 had a 10.5/17

"Just What the Doctor Ordered," March 21, 1981
Unknown; 63 shows ranked for the week; No. 59 had an 11.8/20

"Footsie," April 4, 1981
Unknown; 63 shows ranked for the week; No. 59 had a 10.9/17

"You Gotta Have Hoyt," April 11, 1981
Unknown; 64 shows ranked for the week; No. 60 had an 11.4/19

"Flo's Encounter of the Third Kind," April 18, 1981
10.9, No. 62 out of 70 shows

"No Men's Land," June 23, 1981
9.8, No. 57 out of 66 shows

"The Daynce," June 30, 1981
8.3, No. 61 out of 66 shows

What is your source for this information?

[JR1]

Most comes from Broadcasting magazine. For the Jan. 26, 1981, episode, the ranking comes from the first post's list, with the other info from Broadcasting mag.

[JR1]

Found some more rankings for some weeks (courtesy of info posted to the Ratings Ryan website); updated the first post.

[TVFactFan]

Flo has so much in common with the ropers. Had a successful 1st season due to only have 6 eps and then the show couldnt gain an audience once it had a full season. And just like the Ropers the show only had viewers the 1st season because the parent show had ended its season early

[JR1]

Flo did fare a bit better in its second season than The Ropers did in its second season. Nonetheless, neither set the ratings on fire, leading to their demise.

EDIT: I had thought The Ropers had 23 episodes; turns out it was 28, one less than Flo.

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by JR1

Flo did fare a bit better in its second season than The Ropers did in its second season (and produced six episodes more than the latter). Nonetheless, neither set the ratings on fire, leading to their demise.

The ratings for 2nd season of the Ropers hasnt been found

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by JR1

Found some more rankings for some weeks (courtesy of info posted to the Ratings Ryan website); updated the first post.

Thank you!

It seems like, from your data, Flo started off Season 2 strongly, but then petered out as the season progressed.

[TVFactFan]

Mel should have appeared in the beginning of season 2

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by TVFactFan

Mel should have appeared in the beginning of season 2

Guest appearances from its parent show definitely could have helped. They could have gotten Mel or even Vera to stop by.

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

Guest appearances from its parent show definitely could have helped. They could have gotten Mel or even Vera to stop by.

or just aired it after Alice

[JR1]

TVFactFan- in its season round-up, Broadcasting Magazine reported the second-season rank for The Ropers- 74th. Didn't say which report that went by, as the networks would have their own ratings lists, depending on what they viewed the start of the season.

The change of time slot for Flo , which occurred mid-season, didn't help its fortunes. On CBS' 1980-81 list, Flo finished 64th for the season- that list was based on a later start date to the season (either late October or early November- would have to check), as there was a writer's strike.

Vic Tayback's appearance looks to have boosted Flo a bit (20 programs were ranked lower that week).

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by JR1

TVFactFan- in its season round-up, Broadcasting Magazine reported the second-season rank for The Ropers- 74th. Didn't say which report that went by, as the networks would have their own ratings lists, depending on what they viewed the start of the season.

The change of time slot for Flo , which occurred mid-season, didn't help its fortunes. On CBS' 1980-81 list, Flo finished 64th for the season- that list was based on a later start date to the season (either late October or early November- would have to check; ABC), as there was a writer's strike.

Vic Tayback's appearance looks to have boosted Flo a bit (20 programs were ranked lower that week).

I could see that since it was a familiar face appearing on the show.

[JR1]

^Indeed.

The numbers may have stayed a bit higher had it stayed on Mondays- moving it to Saturdays showed it didn't have the support. A guy who was a CBS executive at the time said the time slot change didn't do the show in (it's true, that the ratings had dipped before the move to Saturdays in February 1981- rather, he said the Flo character just didn't work as well outside of Alice, or something to that effect.