Update to the Summer 2012 ratings race - 17 Jul 12

Here are the ratings for episodes shown from last Friday to yesterday:

Boys on the run Ep 2 - 5.4%
Ghost Mama Sousasen Ep 2 - 11.0%
Sprout Ep 2 - 2.5%
Omo ni naitemasu Ep 2 - 6.6%
Summer Rescue Ep 2 - 11.6%
Beautiful Rain Ep 3 - 8.6%
Naniwa Shonen Tanteidan Ep 3 - 5.6%
Soumatou Kabushigaisha Ep 1 - 2.8%
Rich Man Poor Woman Ep 2 - 11.3%

The 2nd episode "curse" strikes again with all but two dramas doing worse than their first OAs. Omo ni naitemasu managed to stay afloat at 6.6% while Sprout rose 0.1% in its 2nd episode. Besides this, the long weekend in Japan (it was Umi no Hi yesterday) could have meant that people were out on holiday rather than staying at home to catch up on their dramas. On a side note, Kyoto Chiken no Onna has not shown its 2nd episode yet (Iryu Sousa took up its slot with a 2 hour premiere) so it remains to be seen if it can hold on to its top position or that 16.0% was merely a fluke.

And here's how the situation looks like in terms of average ratings so far:

1) Kyoto Chiken no Onna 16.0%
2) GTO 14.2%
3) Iryu Sousa 13.3%
4) Summer Rescue 13.15%
5) Ghost Mama Sousasen 13.1%
6) Rich Man, Poor Woman 12.6%
7) Iki mo dekinai natsu 12.1%
8) Tokkan 11.85%
9) Keishichou Sousa Ikka 9 Kakari 11.45%
10) Beautiful Rain 10.33%

11) Higashino Keigo Mysteries 9.55%
12) Beginners 8.5%
13) Omo ni naitemasu 6.6%
14) Naniwa Shonen Tanteidan 6.47%
15) Boys On The Run 6.45%
16) VISION 3.55%
17) Soumatou Kabushigaisha 2.8%
18) Sprout 2.45%

We are not even at the mid-season mark but half of the offerings are below the 10% mark. I'm rather surprised at Higashino Keigo Mysteries doing so badly and wonder if it's really due to the poor story execution that I've heard about. Common traits among those below-10% dramas are that they are mostly headed by young and upcoming actors and the timeslots aren't exactly primetime, more like experimental works to test these actors' popularity and hone their acting skills. Even within the top 10, figures are still rather close to one another. If Kyoto Chiken no Onna does badly in the second episode, it opens up a path for GTO to aim for the top spot. It's still early days to see how many dramas will pass the 10% mark come September but one thing is for sure, the ratings will probably hit rock bottom when the Olympics start. Whether they will bounce back after that is another question.