The Question, Sunday 2/17/13: What Are Revenge's Ratings for Real?

In the fall, it looked like ABC's move of Revenge to Sunday had worked out well enough; it hadn't exactly broken out, but being even year-to-year is nothing to sneeze at. 2013 has been a different story; event season has taken a heavy toll, and if I didn't know better I would almost suspect ABC was intentionally giving the show as much competition as possible. Three big event airings have chewed a full point out of Revenge, leaving some question about where its "real" level is now that the competition is clearing up a bit. What are Revenge's ratings for real? That's The Question for Sunday, February 17, 2013.

Revenge In 2013	Desperate Housewives In Event Season
2.4 (1/6/2013) 2.0 (1/13/2013, Golden Globe Awards) 1.7 (1/20/2013, AFC Championship) 1.4 (2/10/2013, Grammy Awards)	3.0 (1/8/2012) 2.7 (1/15/2012, Golden Globe Awards) 2.6 (1/22/2012, NFC Championship) 1.8 (2/12/2012, Grammy Awards) 2.2 (2/19/2012) 2.5 (3/4/2012)

If Revenge can perk right back up to a 2.4 tonight, all will be forgiven with respect to ABC's scheduling. If 1.4 is the new normal, fans may have a legit beef. But last year's occupant of the 9:00 slot, put through basically the exact same wringer, suggests either of those extremes is unlikely. In its first episode after event season, Desperate Housewives rallied noticeably, but it couldn't even close half of the gap between its 2012 opener and its Grammy low. That may have been a bit of an unlucky point, because it did grow again in the subsequent episode, settling in the mid-2's (even if that was still below its 3.0 fall level). I'm thinking Revenge does something similar, making up close to half of its event season losses tonight.

Revenge Over/Under: 1.85.

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