The Breakdown: CW Thursday in 2017-18 (Supernatural, Arrow)

It's time for a journey through the CW Thursday schedule in 2017-18...


fall

Year	8:00	8:30	9:00	9:30	Avg
2016-17	Legends of Tomorrow		Legends of Tomorrow	Supernatural		Supernatural	55
	2016-17	57		57	53			53	55
2017-18	Supernatural		Supernatural	Arrow		Arrow	49 (-12%)
	2017-18	54 (-5%)		54.4786549855674	43 (-19%)			43 (-19%)	48.7302438345065
VsAvg	+9%		0.0871316735457832	+14%		0.142430757250032	+11%
Rank	10/17		10/17	6/17		6/17	8/17

In the first timeslot move of its six-season run, Arrow did not impress, and really paled in comparison with another superhero show from a year ago. But Supernatural began a year of small Plus growth, with its 8/7c average just barely edging the 9/8c average from last year.

winter

Year	8:00	8:30	9:00	9:30	Avg
2016-17	Supernatural		Supernatural	Riverdale		Riverdale	41
	2016-17	49		49	34			34	41
2017-18	Supernatural		Supernatural	Arrow		Arrow	45 (+8%)
	2017-18	51 (+5%)		51.4655897098293	38 (+13%)			38 (+13%)	44.891629108219
VsAvg	+7%		0.0733031388177074	+8%		0.0781207025749943	+8%
Rank	10/17		10/17	5/17		5/17	6/17

There was enough juice left in Arrow for it to stay double digits ahead of the marginally-rated season one of Riverdale.

spring

Year	8:00	8:30	9:00	9:30	Avg
2016-17	Supernatural		Supernatural	Riverdale		Riverdale	36
	2016-17	44		44	27			27	36
2017-18	Supernatural		Supernatural	Arrow		Arrow	38 (+8%)
	2017-18	45 (+2%)		44.8992378589153	32 (+16%)			32 (+16%)	38.2396788119714
VsAvg	+8%		0.0835859808947942	+4%		0.0378865540357937	+6%
Rank	9/17		9/17	7/17		7/17	8/17

And the story was the same in the spring, as Supernatural's growth slowed just a teeny bit but Arrow held up a teeny bit better than the end of Riverdale season one.

Rating the Ratings

Name	Lo	Avg	Hi	y2y	Plus	Label	Plusy2y	Results
Supernatural*	0.3	0.55	0.7	-7%	50	hit(CW)	+4%	detail
Arrow*	0.3	0.43	0.9	-31%	39	solid(CW)	-23%	detail

Supernatural: Not a big uptick (held back by the relatively small league average decline), and it's been in this area Plus-wise for several years now. But even with that unfortunate Thanksgiving airing, it was up in Plus in all three phases of the season and ultimately the second-highest Plus in the history of the series. Impressive stuff. Grade: B+.

Arrow: It's rough sledding for the whole DC superhero world at this point, but Arrow is still the one in fastest freefall. I would argue it was even weaker than Legends of Tomorrow this season. It will be interesting to see the two in direct comparison when paired on Monday next year, but it's starting to feel like Arrow should be nearing the finish line. Grade: D.

The names in this last table link to the shows' War of 18-49 pages. Links with an asterisk(*) have been updated with the new info. Updates to younger shows will come later in the summer.

Here's the now updated Schedules Plus for CW Thursday.