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Power Rangers Reaches New Viewership Lows

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“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” – Albert Einstein

The classic saying above rings true in many aspects of life, but perhaps no truer than when thinking of Saban Brands, who has continued to trot out the same, consistent Power Rangers product year after year despite blatant warning signs on the horizon.

Year after year, Saban Brands continues to slap on the word “Super” and produce a Power Rangers TV show that disappoints fans in quality. Year after year, Nickelodeon continues to elect for a summer hiatus that causes an annual viewership drop that’s proven unrecoverable. Year after year, Saban Brands continues to remain unwilling or unable to prevent international territories from airing new episodes months in advance, unleashing a barrage of online leaks and spoilers. And year after year, Power Rangers’ TV ratings continue to decline, as the brand loses more fans by the day.

So, it should come as no surprise that Power Rangers has finally reached its lowest point in viewership, as Power Rangers Ninja Steel’s mid-summer premiere failed to break even 1 million viewers for the first time in the Saban Brands era of Power Rangers (2011-present).

‘Rocking And Rolling’, the 9th episode of Power Rangers Ninja Steel, marked the TV show’s return to Nickelodeon on August 12, but only 950,000 viewers tuned in.

Sinking below 1 million viewers is an obvious cause for concern for a TV show that was once closing in on 4 million viewers in 2011 when Saban Brands bought back the Power Rangers property from Disney.

What this equates to is a 75% reduction in audience over Saban Brands’ 7-year run with the brand.

Although the data is both concerning and disappointing, one thing it’s surely not is surprising. As Saban Brands continues to trot out the same product and formula on a yearly basis, refusing to enact any change despite the blatant warning signs and negative data staring them in the face, the painful downfall of the Power Rangers can be seen as nothing other than expected.

Surely some of Power Rangers’ viewership decline can be attributed to the current changes in technology, as consumers shift away from traditional TV services in favor of streaming services such as Amazon Prime or Netflix.

However, not all of Power Rangers’ struggles can be attributed to changing consumer habits, as no TV show on Nickelodeon has lost a bigger percentage of its audience since 2011 than Power Rangers.

Still, in hopes of improvement, fans will continue to call for change in a world that consistently demands it. The only question is, will Saban Brands wake up to the reality surrounding their #1 brand before it’s too late to save it? Or is it already too late to truly save the Power Rangers from the depths of irrelevancy?

The Power Rangers have defied many odds, and defeated many villains over their 25-year run. But if Saban Brands’ plan is have them take down one of Albert Einstein’s most timeless quotes, the data clearly shows, it’s not working.

Insanity IS doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

32 thoughts on “Power Rangers Reaches New Viewership Lows

  1. I love when this site does articles like these. It’s a very real and truthful take on the state of the show.

    Saban Brands needs help. Numbers don’t lie and it’s very clear to everyone except Saban Brands.

    I’ve worked at a marketing agency for 8 years and we don’t have the luxury of a legion of fans to consult our ideas before signing off. Saban Brands does and it’s sad they’re not tapping some of those fans,l and professionals to assist the extremely amateurish staff they’ve employed.

    I wish the best for Power Rangers but I cannot blame any of the 75% who tapped out on this extremely elementary product.

  2. First off-TAKE VICTOR AND MORTY OUT OF NINJA STEEL! They maybe comic relief, BUT COME ON THEIR SO annoying!~Plus Decrease the fart jokes and add more drama and balance a good comedy for future POwer rangers LIKE IT WAS DONE back in the 90s and early 2000s!

    1. Or….just permanently cancel the show completely since obviously Saban Brands doesn’t know what the hell it’s doing at this point and just come up with a new TV show, instead.

  3. Its sad but you know this is just how things go, saban should have fixed things from super samurai plus the hordible and laughable theme songs were getting is also a problem kids domt want the same go go power rangers theme being reapeted like they cant just switch to another channel with better music

  4. DONT MAKE POWER RANGERS LIKE THE 90S SABAN IS STUCK IN THE PAST TELLING THEM TO MAKE P R LIKE THE 90’s. IS THE WORST ADVICE YOU CAN GIVE THEM
    ITS 20177!!!! STOP WITH THE GO GO P R BS AND STUPID ITS MORPHING TIME

  5. The problem with power rangers now is that they lack real life emotions!!! I hope you producers are reading this because I was born the year power rangers came out.

    The power rangers we see now are too kid like. The power ranger characters are always talking about friendship and working as a team. Back then the stories were more intense, like when wes and Jen were a love story that everyone wanted them to be together, or the time when Kendrix died and krone who was once evil now became a power ranger, or the time when andros has to sacrifice zordon who was his friend in order to save the world, what do all these moments have in common? They have that wow factor to where you wanna rewatch it just to live in that moment. Ninja steel is great, but like like for the past few seasons, power rangers hav yet to express the personal emotional struggles, now it’s just all about funny moments and comedic monsters.

  6. Love this, hope Sabans listening but probably not, think about how much money Saban has lost, multi millions, remember when old eps of power rangers was hard to find? Saban did nothing, if he had released the seasons in the early 2000’s on dvd he would have made a killing, you have to be a real power rangers fan to remember how hard it was to see reruns, they’d just plunk out the new series and forget about the past ones. Then Saban releases the dvds when no one watches them anymore, they stream everything and have every episode on netflix. The movie flopped too, maybe he needs to take a page outta George Lucas’s book and put it in different hands period.

    1. He gave up on the franchise after Turbo saying In Space would be the finale. Fox said no, so after Time Force, he sold off to Disney during Wild Force. Disney wanted to kill off the series after RPM, so instead of a season, we got a MMPR reversion season, during that time, Saban saved it as he bought it back but biggest mistake was going with Nickelodeon instead of the emerging Netflix (which gained the entire PR library at the same time) which led to one regular and one super season in Nick’s favor. So maybe Netflix buy out the franchise and return to 35-40 episode seasons (weekly vs all at once).

  7. The summer hiatus is just the wrong path; but more importantly they need to up the drama of the series to recover. They have a foundation – if they actually use that foundation moving forward to appeal to more fans (instead of fart joke entertained kiddies), the show might recover combined with cameos in Super Ninja Steel. It’s either that or the brand folds completely – and all those fart jokes will be nails in the coffin

    1. Yeah and this breaking a single generation up into 2 seasons is stupid. Each season has what, 10 episodes? Power rangers started in the fall on fox kids, took a hiatus during Christmas and came back January. At least running for 50 episodes back then. What’s this super dino charge, super ninja steel nonsense? Must be a money thing.

    1. Disney bright the rights in 2002, in the middle of wild force. Honestly, Disney tried to do the same thing that Saban is doing now and eventually the brand died. That’s when Saban brought the rights back in 2011 with samurai. Disney didn’t see the value in the franchise and let it die

      1. Truth was, Disney was embarrassed by Power Rangers. They consider it an embarrassment to have, let alone produce. When Disney bought Marvel, they had no need for Power Rangers anymore.

  8. Two Words, Kamen Rider. Needs to brought back, who ever has the rights to the franchise to bring it to America again. We seen the failure when Saban had it. Then we saw how well WB made Kamen Rider Dragon Knight. After that nothing, if power rangers needs to stay revelent we need to bring the more mature (at times) show back to America to kinda make the mid seasons not feel like reruns of 12 episodes we seen over and over. It’s not 2012 anymore and Nickelodeon needs to fix there deal with Saban Brands because. If Japan has this were 40+ episodes can be released throughout the year almost like how Power Rangers we’re back in the 90s the viewership will increase and the kids will enjoy it more because they have something new every week or every other week with a fresh story and all

  9. I’ve been a power rangers fan since first original five teenagers with attitude were chosen. It was the 90s so seeing something like power rangers was unique and original. Even season’s after that was a surprise. Yeah yeah, the same formula remains throughout the season but each team brought something new to the table. Before I learned the footage was taken from the Japanese sentai, the American adaptation, story, was vastly different from its Japanese counterpart.

    I’ve watched the Japanese counterpart of ninja steel, Ninninger, and to see what the writers came up with for the American adaptation, come on, an intergalactic UFC match, really???? Literally anything could be better than this synopsis. I believe the reason why the series has been in decline is due to the lack of creativity. Lost Galaxy was unique, Lightspped Rescue kept it’s homage to its Japanese counterpart GOGO-V and even introduced its own American ranger while maintaining its own original story.

    Yes, I get it, Saban brands is trying to entertain a new generation. A new audience but come on let’s be real, the original 90s kids, us, we have history with the multicolored superhero group. What was the last team up power rangers had done? That whack legendary war? That could’ve been done so much better for both old and new viewers. New viewers could’ve gotten a glimpse of tommy, Jason, kim the whole original mighty morphin crew. Kids today don’t know tommy, Zack, trini, Aisha, Adam and Rocky. That whole massive team up could’ve been epic but Saban brands just waved it off.

    Power rangers have lost it’s roots. Every power ranger fan always looked forward to that team crossover episode. Super Sentai does it every year, hour long special. Why can’t we? I’m sure if generations today’s knew the original team and the many teams thereafter, the legacy would live on.

    I guess what I’m trying to say, Saban Brands, give todays generation something new and exciting to live for, but at the same time, pay homage to the original teams and to the first audience you had so that we can feel nostalgic to.

    1. What you said is nothing but truth!! I like you go back all the way to the premiere season of Power Rwngers, but I only watched it for 10 years, ending with Wild Force. I soon started to watch Super Sentai, starting with Magiranger. Since then I’ve watched nothing but Sentai.

      Now Super Sentai isnt without faults, its been on since 1975, over 4 decades of shows and there has been many duds. Nevertheless in spite of falling ratings, they still go strong because they’re not afraid to try new things. Saban still wants to hold on to the 90s nostalgia but that was gone 10 years ago. They need to cut the kid crap and start adding some maturity to seasons like Zeo, In Space, Lost Galaxy, even in RPM. If their handling of the Gokaiger adaptation didnt tell how what was wrong, nothing will

  10. I believe the summer hiatus is a problem. I mean PR could only release 8 episode before the hiatus, how can a target audience of 7 or 8 years old gonna stick to characters if they get 8 weeks of show then 2-4 months wothout. you can do so much but of course the kids wont stick to the series if the viewing isnt there

  11. The hiatus is a HUGE problem.

    It’s bad enough the 44 episodes are split between 2 years. Even worse when you have a 5 month break after 8 episodes. If someone in their 20’s or 30’s is losing interesting during the hiatus, how do you expect a child to really remember “the last time on Power Rangers”?

    Then the quality itself has suffered greatly and everyone but Saban has acknowledged it. I don’t expect the franchise to tap into their 90’s vibe/style, but after the last two episodes, a change in structure needs to be made. Yes, Victor and Monty are wayyyy too much and poorly enacted. Unfortunately, that’s the way it’ll be until 2019. Let’s just hope Saban Brands can tweak the formula for the 2019 season, whichever that may be.

  12. That’s a shame, at least the show is still on TV. Has anymore spoilers for future episodes been revealed yet?

  13. It has to be wilful ignorance at this point. A large part of the problem seems to be the predictable mediocrity of Saban after the buy back.
    When Power Ranger’s first started they weren’t afraid to try new things, and they understood that while yes the target audience were children, they weren’t idiots. There was enough in there to also appeal to slightly older kids, who often have more control of the remote (or streaming choice these days).
    Ever since Samurai, they have been less and less willing to take any risks, and have been making the show progressively more and more juvenile.
    Children do not grow younger, Saban. They grow up, and your attitude toward them needs to do the same. They know when you are patronizing them.
    On the subject of the hiatus nonsense, it takes an average of 66 days to form a habit, but as little as 21 days to break one. It doesn’t take a mathematician to work out that having no show for 5 months means everyone forgets about it.
    It’s time for Saban to stop trying to patch their sinking ship with worn out material, and find some decent quality stuff to do the job.

  14. The main issues with this franchise are as follows:

    1) Nickelodeon. Not sure how you’d expect this show to be any different from the way it is now when you put it on the same channel as Spongebob Squarepants. Plus it’s pretty clear they don’t treat Power Rangers with respect; they’re the ones who demanded each season to be 20 episodes long with two holiday specials. So it’s either have a tiny season based on one Sentai or have two seasons of one show over two years to raise the episode count. And the summer hiatus is the worst offender. Fans will eventually forget or lose interest, and if they don’t have access to online news outlets, they’re not going to know when the TV show returns. Furthermore, Power Rangers used to air on free broadcast TV. Putting it on a cable service channel was guaranteed to lower the viewer count.

    2) Saban. These guys really need to get their heads out of the 90’s and work on better promotion for their new stuff. There’s a stark contrast in quality between Ninja Steel and the 2017 movie. It’s obvious that Saban loves its firstborn more than anything else and spoils it rotten. And the 2017 movie is great. So why can’t Saban put the same effort into making a sophisticated TV show that doesn’t talk down to kids. Judd Lynn was able to do some damage control, but in the end, Nickelodeon is still pulling the strings on this franchise. Saban needs to work on making their current material better.

    3) MMPR nostalgia. Those first three seasons are dated as all heck and they’re only popular because they came first. To this day, some fans still lash out at Jason, Zack, Trini, and Kimberly being replaced, and Power Rangers lost a lot of viewership when Lost Galaxy first aired because of the fresh cast. The early seasons closed some viewers’ minds and made them resistant to change. People are STILL clamoring for Tommy, who, as of this day, had 5 1/2 seasons worth of screen time and cameos in Wild Force, S.P.D., Super Megaforce, and the 2017 movie. Enough is enough. Let’s give newer characters and veterans who haven’t had as much as a single cameo yet some time to shine. And show the Disney seasons some respect. Even in their dying days, they still did better. RPM is one of the best seasons to come out of the franchise, and by that point, Disney had given up on it. If they can produce something of that quality during their abandonment period, imagine what Saban could do just casually. Make each season like it’s going to be your last.

  15. What they should do is disband the word “Super” and make the new seasons longer, stop giving long spring and summer breaks and pay close attention to the franchise how it was done right years ago.

  16. In all reality, saban really has few options that could pull them out of this hole. 1)would be selling the series back to Disney, 2)leave nickeleoden and more to a network who can do more than 20 episodes per season. 3) make a theme song and story line that doesn’t seem like it was just made up as the series goes on. The last one and possibly the most needed, don’t make a show that seems to teach a life lesson.
    Honestly when Disney had the series the shows felt much more original and even found ways to work the super sentai footage smoothly into the PR exclusives footage.Last resort would be cancel the series

  17. I loved power rangers as a child and now my kids watch it but they don’t like the new versions they have out now , they watch Netflix and their favourite is Mighty Morphin, after all this time this is still the most popular, they need to bring back real Martial Arts and awesome fight songs then take it seriously, not joke and call out blaster names while they fight, back I. The day you accualy thought they could loose.

  18. I think the problem here is that television is dying a horrible death. We live in a world where all our entertainment needs are on our phones, tablets, and computers. With streaming and clips of our favorite shows. Sadly, very few networks and organizations have accepted this and managed to adapt. This is going to be yet another barrier for Saban to overcome.

  19. Power Rangers “SUPER” Ninja Steel? What’s so “super” about it? The “super” gimmick has got to go because if they are trying to be like their Super Sentai counterpart Shuriken Sentai Ninninger then they need to go back and watch those episodes on how it was done. Also this hiatus thing really needs to stop because how is ANYONE going to remember what happened on the last shown episode!?

  20. When Disney, a company that was ashamed of Power Rangers b/w 2002-2009 still created some amazing seasons(Dino Thunder, SPD, RPM, half of Mystic force, hell the only “bad” season from Disney was Overdrive, and imo, that is still better than most of the Neo-Saban episodes) and treated its IP better than you, Saban, the original owner, you know you have some serious problems.

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