Sarah Conner, Terminated?

While I have not seen anything official yet, there are lots of rumors floating around right now that the show Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles is on the chopping block.  This makes me very unhappy because it is one of the few shows that I’m actually interested in this season.  What is making me even more unhappy is that the ratings aren’t as bad as they appear to be.

When ratings are taken for shows like this, they ignore viewers that see it via Hulu or DVRed, or in other markets such as the UK.  The problem is that the group that this show is targeted for is the same group that is likely to have a DVR or watch the show online.  We all know why they do the ratings this way.  It’s all about advertising dollars.  The ratings only include those watching the show while it is being aired.  If you’re watching it DVRed or online, chances are you are skipping over the commercials. And if you’re watching it live in the UK, this doesn’t help US advertising dollars either.

The problem is that in time to come more and more people are going to be viewing their media online or DVRed.  Obviously, I personally watch most of my TV via my homebrew HTPC running Mythtv, and what I don’t watch there I watch with my laptop via Hulu or similar online sites.  I rarely watch anything live, directly on the TV these days.  And this is going to be the case for more and more people.  This is not a new concept anymore.  Networks, cable companies and satellite companies are going to have to find a new way to rate their shows (and make revenue) because the current way of doing things don’t work anymore.  All of the good shows will be canceled.

What do you think?  Is the current rating method fair?  How should it be improved?