4th Exclusive David Simon Q&A (page 13)
Q: Were you disappointed that HBO couldn't keep the episodes and screeners under control again this year, or was it
just more publicity? Why do you think there were even fewer viewers for this final season? [Doug, Jim]A: Disappointed I was that the episodes leaked. And I don't actually believe there were less viewers. Not significantly so, and perhaps, in the end, there might have been a few more. Hard to say at this point. I'll explain:
The first seven leaked from a Newsweek screener. The Omar scene and the finale from some copies stolen from HBO itself. Meanwhile, a lot has been made -- most of it, amusingly, by the Baltimore Sun -- about our supposedly declining viewership. Let's parse that in light of this and other phenomenon...
First, HBO elected to show The Wire at both 9 p.m. and 10:30 on Sundays, intentionally splitting the premiere night's audience and allowing subscribers to choose earlier or later viewings. When totaled, the two viewings are almost equal to and on some nights larger than the single Sunday viewing numbers of season four. Now, add to that the On-Demand numbers, which are often between 700,000 and 800,000 in the first week alone and are running ahead of season four totals -- though the overall on-demand number is not calculated until the end of the run, because as many of you will surmise, some folks want to wait until all eps are available On Demand and then power-watch the season over a week or so. So those numbers are still accumulating.
And now, add to that the Internet downloads on almost all episodes entirely independent of the Nielsens or the On-Demand totals. Never mind the DVDs which are actually selling faster now than when the four seasons were originally released.
When all is said and done about how The Wire is acquired by viewers from various platforms, the audience will be about the same as season four. Maybe a bit less, maybe a bit more.
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