• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, November 6, 2007

A year ago, NBC's "The Office" was a critical darling but not exactly a ratings star. What a difference a currency makes. Now, using the new ratings important to buyers and sellers, the quirky series has shot up from barely a top-30 show squarely into the top-10.

But not all series are faring as well with the new C3 ratings--"average commercial ratings for live plus three days of viewing"--driving Madison Avenue. In fact, just about all major hits have seen notable ratings drops in the 18-to-49 demo in the early season when comparing program ratings to this year's blend of commercial ratings and DVR use. The declines resulting from the switch to C3 (the dominant currency now in the market) are probably also caused by a combination of network viewership waning and some degree of commercial-skipping with DVRs. Networks have contended that hit shows are the most likely to be recorded with the devices, which makes them the most susceptible to ad-skipping. The ratings drops likely will curtail network inventory going forward, although not necessarily pricing and revenues if demand is high.

Last fall, through the first three weeks of the 2006-07 season, "The Office" was averaging a 4.1 in the 18-to-49 demo in program ratings (good for a tie for 30th, behind several now-cancelled shows). Fast-forward 12 months, and the series is averaging a 4.4 (5.8 million viewers) in C3, placing it ninth in the rankings based on that metric.

Another notable beneficiary of the currency switch is Fox's "House," which continues to surge--moving from sixth with its 6.2 program rating at the same point a year ago to second with a 6.8 in C3 now.

Also, ABC's new "Private Practice," perhaps because of high early-season sampling, is averaging a 4.5 (5.9 million viewers) in the C3 metric for the 18-to-49 demo through three weeks this season, good for eighth place. The show likely benefits from DVR recording as it goes against two strong series in its time slot.)

The C3 rankings available so far only cover the new season through Oct. 14, the latest Nielsen has made available--so some dynamics and results may have changed in the ensuing weeks.

But with the exception of "The Office" and "House," the data shows just about all major hits dropping in 18-to-49 ratings--when last year's program ratings are compared to this year's C3.

ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" continues as television's number-one show in the demo, but its ratings are down from a 10.1 to a 7.4.

"Desperate Housewives," which ranked second a year ago in program ratings with a 9.0, is down to a 6.4 and has fallen a notch to third place in C3. "CSI" has declined from a 7.8 to a 6.4 and ranks fourth in C3.

("Grey's Anatomy," "CSI" and "The Office," which compete against each other in the Thursday 9 p.m. hour, are all top-10 shows in C3 rankings.)

A year ago, "ER" got off to a strong start as CBS moved time-period competitor "Without a Trace" to Sunday and it ranked fourth through the first three weeks with a 6.4 program rating in 18 to 49 viewers. This year, it has fallen to a tie for 25th place in C3 with a 3.5.

The drops continue: "CSI: Miami" from a 6.0 and top-10 ranking to 4.3 and 12th; ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" from a 5.9 and ninth to a 4.1 and fifteenth; and ABC's "Ugly Betty" from a 4.7 and tie for seventeenth to out of the top-25 in C3.

Some series have lost ratings points as a result of the switchover, but moved up in the C3 rankings: "Heroes," which is down from a 5.7 to a 5.0, jumped from tenth to sixth and "Law & Order: SVU," down from a 5.2 to a 4.3, but rising from thirteenth to tenth.