Without Football, 'Battlestar Galactica' Pulls In Viewers

SciFi Channel learned that lesson the hard way, opening up both "Battlestar Galactica" and "The Dresden Files" against AFC Championship football Jan. 21 to not-so-great ratings. However, both shows made a strong recovery Jan. 28 with "Battlestar" picking up a couple hundred thousand viewers to once again cross the 2 million viewer threshold for SciFi Channel.

BSG pulled in 2.05 million viewers, according to industry publication Broadcasting & Cable, bringing it more in line with how the series picked up in January 2006 when it had 2.1 million viewers tuned in for the second half of the show's second season.

"The Dresden Files" also did well, bringing in 1.89 million viewers compared to 1.73 million it had in the previous week, however the gap between the two shows have widened a bit as "Dresden Files'" uptick was not as dramatic as "Battlestar Galactica's."

While Broadcasting & Cable didn't release actual ratings numbers, 2.05 million viewers for cable usually equates to around a 1.7 or 1.8 rating, bettering the 1.4 the show earned last week when it competed directly with the AFC Championship game between the Indianapolis Colts and the New England Patriots which pulled in 50 million viewers.

SciFi Channel apparently has learned its lesson from the previous week with its decision not to air new episodes against the Super Bowl, and there is word from SciFi Channel sources that the show also will not air against the Oscars in late February.

"The Dresden Files" airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET followed at 10 p.m. ET by "Battlestar Galactica" on SciFi Channel. Both series will return with new episodes Feb. 11.

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