

If there were whispers of concern about genre programming on the networks, it should be a shout right now.

Science-fiction programming managed only a 2.6 rating/4 share during November sweeps, when averaging Fast National ratings from The Nielsen Co. That’s down nearly 30 percent from the year before when the series premiere of “V” led the way.

But it’s not the absence of shows like “V” that hurt the ratings this time around. It was returning shows like “Fringe” and “Vampire Diaries,” both of which had double-digit losses compared to the year before.

“Vampire Diaries” had the biggest dropoff from its freshman season, losing 19 percent from a 2.6 household rating to a 2.1 average. “Supernatural,” which moved from Thursdays to Fridays this season, was not far behind, losing 18 percent of its viewership from the year before. It went from a 1.7 household rating to a 1.4.

Television overall suffered a decline as well, but nothing as dramatic as what happened with genre programming. Network ratings averaged a 4.5 household, down 6 percent from the 4.8 household the networks scared up last November.

The series premiere of “V” pushed up genre ratings last year when it gave ABC an 8.5/13, the genre’s best rating last year. Believe it or not, however, the genre misses shows like “FlashForward” on ABC and “Heroes” on NBC. The two shows, which were cancelled after last season, earned a 5.4/9 and 3.4/5 average respectively.

This year, it was “No Ordinary Family” leading the way with a 4.5/7 compared to the 6.7/10 average from “V” last year. Besides that, no other genre show cracked the 3.5/5 averaged by “The Event.”

The only show that ended up with a gain over the previous year was “Smallville,” which grew 6 percent over last year. The bad thing? The CW is ending “Smallville” after a 10-year run, while the network is working to bring back “Supernatural” and “Vampire Diaries” next season.

Top Genre Shows, November Sweeps Average — [Audience Loyalty Index rating]

1. No Ordinary Family (ABC) 4.5/7 [77.6] 2. The Event (NBC) 3.5/5 [63.4] 3. Chuck (NBC) 3.2/5 [92.1] 4. Fringe (Fox) 3.0/5 [90.6] 5. Vampire Diaries (CW) 2.1/3 [94.9] 6. Smallville (CW) 1.7/3 [88.9] 7. Supernatural (CW) 1.4/3 [85.0]

Fast Nationals usually provide a snapshot of what Americans are watching by pulling numbers from the top urban markets that include both live viewing and same-day timeshifted viewing. A rating point generally represents more than 1.1 million households while the share indicates the percentage of televisions turned on that was tuned to the specific program. These numbers typically shift when final ratings are issued.

Data collected from The Nielsen Co., as distributed by Zap2it. BlipNetwork tracks non-news, non-event programming, and figures for this story reflect airing of new episodes only. For more information on the Audience Loyalty Index, click here.