The last time "American Idol" endured ratings so low, Brian Dunkleman was the co-host, George W. Bush was president, and Simon Cowell was just some jerk from Britain.
But on Tuesday, with the show's contestant field whittled to five, "Idol" dropped to its lowest overall audience since August 27, 2002, its first season on the air.
The Fox reality competition show was watched by an average of only 17.1 million viewers, according to Nielsen Fast Nationals, and was actually beaten in that benchmark by ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" (averaged 19.6 million watchers).
Fox officials were quick to point out that "Idol" won the night in terms of the all-important adults 18-49 demographic, scoring a 6.0 rating/18 share, beating next closest competitor "Dancing" by a margin of 94 percent in that metric.
But the erosion of "Idol" this season, which has struggled amid the departure of longtime host Paula Abdul and the pending exit of Cowell, is undeniable, with the show dropping 13 percent from last week's episode.
And that's not a good thing, considering that April 17 broadcast was off 17 percent from the comparable week in 2009.
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2 comments:
Call me what you will, but has anyone actually watched the show this season? I'm not normally an Idol buff, but the content and talent in this season is seriously lacking. I would agree that the departure of Abdul and Cowell are a big factor in the ratings tank, but content has to play a part in this as well. Watching a show with mediocre singers and less than stellar arrangements with pithy satire thrown between the judges and host got old after about two weeks...perhaps a few seasons ago.
Abdul and Cowell were the best parts of American Idol!
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