According to a November 19 article published by The U.S. Sun, “Survivor”s ratings have allegedly “plummeted” to the lowest they’ve ever been in the show’s 25-year history.
While the exclusive article included comments from an insider who claimed that the hit CBS reality competition series is “struggling to maintain the relevancy it used to have,” not all “Survivor” fans are buying it.
Among those calling out the Sun article is “Survivor” superfan Tegwyth Alderson-Taber, better known online as “Survivor Teg.” A friend of the series, who this summer attended a fan trip to Fiji to visit the set of “Survivor 49,” took to TikTok after the article was published to clap back with statistics to prove that the CBS staple isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Survivor Teg Proves ‘Survivor’ Viewership Is Alive and Well
Comments addressing the potential demise of “Survivor” were delivered to The U.S. Sun by an unnamed insider after Nielsen live ratings showed that, on average, 500,000 fewer people were tuning in to watch the show’s currently-airing 49th season compared to the ratings of “Survivor 48,” which aired earlier this year.
“Ratings have hit a low,” reported the insider. “Audience engagement is at an all-time low.”
While the report left many viewers uncertain about the show’s future, Survivor Teg has since called on fans to “stop worrying.”
Teg began her counter-argument to the Sun article by offering a recent ratings report, published by The Hollywood Reporter, which showed that “Survivor” continues to rank amongst the Top 20 “most viewed” projects on broadcast television, outside of sports.
THR’s list includes both scripted and unscripted content, and shows that “Survivor 49” continues to pull in approximately 6.8 million viewers a week, with 5.52 million of those viewers tuning in to watch the show live each week. The additional 1.3 million viewers catch up with the ongoing series on streaming platforms like Paramount+.
Teg continued to break down the THR report, showcasing that, for adult viewers between the ages of 18 and 49, “Survivor” ranks in as the seventh most-watched series on broadcast television. The series is beaten out by only six other projects, including “Ghosts” and “Trackers” from CBS, as well as “911,” “Abbott Elementary,” “Dancing with the Stars” and “High Potential” from ABC.
The Superfan Addresses Claims That Viewers ‘Hate’ Season 49
The Sun article similarly saw insiders claim that “Survivor” production was on “cruise control” en route to the highly-anticipated premiere of Season 50 next year.
“Not that season 49 isn’t important,” the insider added. “But the focus is all on 50.”
CBS“I know for a fact that that is absolutely not true,” said Teg in response to the claims, adding, “I’ve had the pleasure to meet and talk to the people who work on the show and I don’t think ‘auto pilot’ is in their vocabulary.”
While Teg admitted that the fandom’s ongoing dissatisfaction with “Survivor”s “new era” has resulted in less fanfare than the series celebrated during its so-called “Golden Era,” – as well as admitting her own critiques of the changes the show has undergone in recent years – she quantified that oftentimes those trying to detract from the show’s success are simply the loudest in the room.
“I’ve also talked to my friends who are casual viewers of the show who are saying that Season 49 is one of the first seasons in a while that they actually really enjoy,” Teg revealed. “People are watching Season 49 for the first time and are absolutely loving it.”
Though Teg’s anecdotal evidence may not go a long way towards repairing the uncertainties caused by the recent Sun article, she concluded her defense of “Survivor”s future with this message to fans: “I just want to remind ‘Survivor’ fans, there is literally always going to be somebody out there saying, ‘The end is near! “Survivor” is ending!’… And maybe one day that will be true, but I promise you, it’s not going to be a Sun article that brings that to fruition.”
I love this show.
Have seen every episode
It’s a relatively cheap show to make with an ever changing cast that consistently breaks the top 20. Season 50 will break viewer records. It isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
LOVE Survivor!!!! Never missed a show in 49 Seasons!
I haven’t had a TV since 2014 and didn’t try to learn how to stream on my computer (no smart phone, either) until November. Of all the choices I had to stream, the first one I looked at was Survivor remembering the days when I would watch it live on TV. It better not go away now.