The WIT Analysis: The CW

NEW YORK: Social-media interest in The CW’s new series The Flash has been quickly building momentum since being unveiled by the younger-skewing broadcast network last week, with the show already leading all the newly announced series in terms of Facebook and Twitter activity, according to media research firm The WIT.

The channel only announced four new additions to its 2014/2015 slate, with just two set for the fall: Warner Bros. Television’s Arrow spin-off The Flash and CBS Studios’ Jane the Virgin.

The Flash, based on a DC Comics superhero character, is set to become the most-anticipated new show based on social-media interactions, The WIT says. It has about 257,000 Facebook likes as of May 23, second behind Gotham, and is number one in Facebook interactions (315,000). It also leads in Twitter activity, with about 26,000 followers and some 13,300 tweets on May 15 alone. Plus, the new show’s various teasers and trailers did a cumulative 5.8 million views and outperformed FOX’s Gotham and NBC’s Constantine in terms of engagement and positive comments.

“The online crowd (involving fans and non-fans of DC Comics and Arrow) are impressed by the aesthetics and the production value of what they expect to be an awesome superhero TV show,” says The WIT’s Caroline Servy. “They also get excited about the potential crossovers with Arrow, possibly Gotham…while a small minority fear that the show would not be as action-packed as the trailer, are not convinced by the suits, the cast, or make the usual comparisons (‘Superman-like storytelling’).”

Jane the Virgin, based on the Venezuelan telenovela format Juana la Virgen, meanwhile, is not resonating as well among potential viewers. The trailer had about 212,000 views, indicating curiosity in the show, but there were almost as many “Thumbs Down” ratings on YouTube as there were “Thumbs Up.” Moreover, as of yesterday the show had under 1,000 fans/followers on Facebook and Twitter.

“People just don’t buy the story line,” Servy says. “And while a minority find it 'cute' or trust the telenovela vibe, conversations are filled in the majority with negative feelings, or nostalgia for their favorite shows canceled by the network.”

Without trailers, there has not been too much social-media engagement for the midseason replacements iZombie and The Messengers, but the former has already outperformed Jane the Virgin in terms of Facebook and Twitter fans.

For more on the upcoming U.S. fall season, check out our network-by-network and studio-by-studio recap here.