American Idol Ratings Are Down But Still Great
January 16, 2008 by Jeanne
Variety reported this morning that American Idol‘s 7th season premiere was down a little more than 10% from last year’s record opener but that it still pulled in great numbers! This year’s first episode raked in 33.2 million viewers overall which represents "double the combined demo delivery in the time period of ABC, CBS and NBC. It also made for the highest-rated night of the season on any network, outperforming last Saturday’s NFL playoff game on CBS between New England and Jacksonville."
I think those are solid numbers for a show in it’s seventh season despite what bloggers like Perez Hilton says (ugh, he said the show was dead and would only get worse from here).
I understand the disenchantment of some viewers but it almost feels like some people just want the show to fail. Your thoughts?
image credit Sam Jones/Fox
I think the numbers are probably distorted a bit too because of the strike, meaning viewers don’t really have any alternatives for new shows to watch right now. Were the strike not on, I think the numbers would be even lower.
As it is, I’ll be curious to see how the season progresses. Personally, I stopped watching the audition episodes a few years ago, and only start tuning in when it gets to the semifinals now. Others may be the same as me, and still others may be the opposite and only watch the auditions for the humour factor.
I don’t think the show is dead per se. I get the feeling people ARE a bit tired of it and could use a break. Maybe if a new season only aired every second year rather than every year?
The season premiere was excellent. It’s generally true that the audition episodes pale in comparison to the actual elimination show, but crazy contestants like Alexis Cohen made it all worth it. Check out http://www.burgernoodle.com to see what I mean.