There are many mysteries on ABC’s The River. What’s not a mystery is the fact that the TV show’s ratings are poor and the thriller series is sure to be cancelled after just one season.
What can you do? Remember, the ideal scenario for ABC is for many millions of people to watch the show on their television sets, while it’s being broadcast. Unfortunately, ratings are put together based on a sampling of viewers. If you’re a “Nielsen household,” your viewing is being counted. If not, it’s not.
However, if you like The River and want to see it continue, there are a few things you can do to help.
- If you’re a Nielsen family, watch the show whenever it’s on. If not, watch it on ABC.com or purchase episodes online so your viewing will be directly counted. Encourage others to watch the show. You might know a Nielsen family and not be aware of it.
- Talk about the show with others; at school, at work, online, or wherever. Creating a buzz about a show that you’re invested in gets other people interested and might help bring former viewers back.
- Sign the petition below and encourage others to do the same.
- Write to the network. Be respectful. Everyone responds better to courtesy. Tell them how much you enjoy the show, that you’ve signed the petition, and that you want to see it continue. You can use this form or, even better, write via “snail-mail” to: Mr. Paul Lee, President, ABC, 500 S. Buena Vista Street, Burbank, CA 91521, RE: The River
- Call the network at (818) 460-7477 and leave a comment. Be polite and tell them how much you like the show.
- Take note of the products that are advertised during the show. Write the advertisers and tell them that you appreciate their sponsoring the show and that you buy their products (if you do).
To ABC, ABC Studios, Amblin Entertainment, DreamWorks Television, and Good PR Productions:
We, the undersigned, like watching The River on the ABC network. This TV show is a one-of-a-kind series that keeps us glued to our seats each week.
Please find a way to keep The River on the air. We are devoted viewers who will continue to watch the program, encourage others to do the same, and will support the series’ advertisers as well. Please keep it going, either on ABC, another Disney-owned channel, or in some other way. At the very least, find a way to give the story a proper ending.
Thank you for your consideration.
Image courtesy ABC.
[…] To fund the rescue, they agree to let Doctor Cole’s long-time friend and cagey ex-producer, Clark Quietly (Paul Blackthorne), film the mission documentary-style. The lead cameraman is AJ Poulain (Shaun Parkes) who formerly worked on Undiscovered Country. […]
[…] Based on this early performance, it looks certain that The River will be cancelled after one season. The network only ordered eight episodes so there are only five produced installments remaining. The last is expected to air on March 20th. Given that this is an ongoing mystery series, it seems highly unlikely that the story will be wrapped up by the finale. […]
[…] Blackthorne is formally billed as a guest star in the Arrow pilot because it’s technically in second position behind The River. Given the ABC show’s low ratings, it’s almost a sure thing that The River will be cancelled and won’t stand in his way of appearing in more episodes of Arrow should it get a greenlight. […]
[…] The ratings have been dropping ever since. Last week’s episode drew just a 1.3 rating in the demo with 4.09 million total viewers. Averaging a 1.67 demo and 4.82 million, The River is the lowest-rated drama on the network and has fallen even lower than sure-to-be-cancelled Pan Am. On our network report card, which compares ABC TV show demo ratings, The River gets a “D.” […]