Update to Summer 2012 ratings race - 23 Jul 12

With all summer dramas having aired their first episodes, here is how the ranking looks like in terms of first OA ratings:

1) Kyoto Chiken no Onna 16.0%
2) Ghost Mama Sousasen 15.2%
3) GTO 15.1%
4) Summer Rescue 14.7%
5) Rich Man, Poor Woman 13.9%
6) Iryu Sousa 13.3%
7) Keishichou Sousa Ikka 9 Kakari 13.0%
8) Tokkan / Kuro no Onna Kyoushi / Beautiful Rain 12.9%
11) Iki mo dekinai natsu 12.1%
12) Higashino Keigo Mysteries 11.3%
13) Beginners 8.5%
14) Naniwa Shounen Tanteidan 7.8%
15) Boys On The Run 7.5%
16) Omo ni naitemasu 6.6%
17) VISION 4.1%
18) Soumatou Kabushikigaisha 2.8%
19) Sprout 2.4%
And here are the ratings for episodes aired between last Thursday and Sunday:

Beginners Ep 2 - 9.9% (increased by 1.4% from its debut)
Higashino Keigo Mysteries Ep 3 - 8.8% (1% higher than its worst rating so far the previous week)
Kuro no Onna Kyoushi Ep 1 - 12.9%
Ghost Mama Sousasen Ep 3 - 11.0% (same as episode 2)
Sprout Ep 3 - 2.9% (highest to date)
Summer Rescue Ep 3 - 10.1% (lowest to date)
Beautiful Rain Ep 4 - 13.0% (highest to date)

Finally, this is how the ranking stands now in terms of average ratings:

1) Kyoto Chiken no Onna 16.0%
2) GTO 13.57%
3) Iryu Sousa 13.3%
4) Kuro no Onna Kyoushi 12.9%
5) Rich Man, Poor Woman 12.6%
6) Ghost Mama Sousasen 12.4%
7) Summer Rescue 12.13%%
8) Keishichou Sousa Ikka 9 Kakari 11.77%
9) Tokkan 11.63%
10) Iki mo dekinai natsu 11.15%
11) Beautiful Rain 11.0%

12) Higashino Keigo Mysteries 9.3%
13) Beginners 9.2%
14) Omo ni naitemasu 6.6%
15) Naniwa Shounen Tanteidan 6.47%
16) Boys On The Run 6.45%
17) VISION 3.55%
18) Soumatou Kabushikigaisha 2.8%
19) Sprout 2.6%
One interesting trait about the ratings this season is that, they are so close to one another that it won't be surprising to find a drama going up and down the ranking in a matter of a week. For example, the 12% club has 4 contenders which are likely to swap positions if they do well or badly in a week.
 
Kyoto Chiken no Onna hasn't aired its 2nd episode yet so going by the usual trend of the 2nd episode doing not as well as the first, its top position may be at risk. Then again, it has to go below 11.1% in order for it to have a lower average than GTO, provided the latter will not do badly this week. Likewise for Iryu Sousa and Kuro no Onna Kyoushi, the first episode ratings can't really tell the direction of these two dramas in terms of viewership so their OAs this week will be a barometer of how well it is received by viewers.
 
As for VISION, Soumatou and Sprout, I think their low ratings aren't as alarming as it seems especially when you consider that their timeslots aren't primetime. Usually, past 11pm and midnight dramas tend to have lower ratings (Jikou Keisatsu was a rare hit) so the situation isn't bad after all unlike Kazoku no Uta last season which was in a primetime slot. Sprout in particular seems to be gaining popularity since its first OA.