The CW is the smallest television network and their TV shows draw far fewer viewers than the others. However, they still have to cancel and renew series. Will your favorites survive to see another season? Stay tuned.

CW shows this season (so far): The 100, America’s Next Top Model, Arrow, Beauty and the Beast, Cedric’s Barber Battle, Dates, The Flash, Hart of Dixie, iZombie, Jane the Virgin, Masters of Illusion, The Messengers, The Originals, Penn & Teller: Fool Us, Reign, Significant Mother, Supernatural, The Vampire Diaries, Whose Line Is It Anyway?, and A Wicked Offer.

How does The CW decide what to cancel or renew? They look at a lot of different factors but the ratings play an important role. The higher the ratings, the better chance a show has of surviving. Here’s how the network’s shows are doing so far:



Note: If you’re not seeing the updated charts, please try reloading the page. You can also see them here and here.

A couple of notes about these charts:

These figures are updated automatically as new ratings are released. The averages are based on the final national numbers (live plus same day viewing), unless marked with an asterisk (*). For technical reasons, I have to resort them manually so feel free to let me know if I missed something.

Keep in mind that the demo numbers are typically what’s most important to advertisers. Therefore, that’s how the networks measure success. Advertisers pay more for ad time on a show that has a higher demo rating. Because older viewers don’t count? No, it’s because younger viewers watch less traditional TV and are therefore supposedly harder to reach.

Demo numbers are typically reported using the 10ths decimal place (2.4, for example). In the averages, I’m using an extra decimal for easier ranking. The networks take into account when shows air on Fridays or Saturday, nights when TV viewership is lower.

What do you think? Which shows are you rooting for? Which one isn’t as big a hit as you thought? Are you hoping any series will get cancelled to make room for something else?