'American Idol' debut
drops 27 percent
Hit show's season 11 debut averages a 7.2 in 18-49s
By Toni Fitzgerald
Jan 19, 2012
Fox's "American Idol" was still an easy No. 1 last night, but it returned to much lower ratings than last year's season premiere.
The season 11 debut averaged a 7.2 adults 18-49 rating from 8 to 10 p.m., according to Nielsen overnights, down a considerable 27 percent from last year's bow, which averaged a 9.7.
"Idol" still won every half hour and finished 44 percent ahead of the night's No. 2 show, "Modern Family," which averaged a 5.0.
But clearly the juggernaut is slowing down. The show averaged 21.6 million total viewers, its least-watched premiere since season one and down 20 percent from last year's 26.2 million.
The dip is not unexpected. The past three years there were new judging panels to draw people's interest, unlike this year, when the panel stayed the same. Still only one of those years saw ratings rise.
The show is in season 11, a point when most programs are in decline, and rival singing competitions "The X Factor" and "The Voice," though they're not currently on the air, have sapped some of the appetite for singing shows.
Bottom line, "Idol" is still strong but it's nowhere near as strong as it once was.
But even a weaker "Idol's" return hurt the competition. Every show that aired opposite "Idol" saw declines from its most recent episode, most notably NBC's revamped Wednesday comedy block, which had an okay premiere last week.
Last night "Whitney" and "Are You There, Chelsea" fell 20 percent and 22 percent, respectively, versus last week, to a 1.6 and a 1.8 in the 8 p.m. hour.
"Family" was off the least, only 2 percent, and it had a stronger rating than last year when it faced the "Idol" premiere, which speaks to the comedy's momentum this year. It's seeing ratings gains over season three and is one of the top shows on broadcast this season.
Fox was first for the night among 18-49s with a 7.2 average overnight rating and an 18 share, topping the other Big Four networks combined.
ABC was second at 3.0/8, CBS third at 2.5/6, NBC fourth at 1.5/4, Univision fifth at 1.3/3, Telemundo sixth at 0.6/2 and CW seventh at 0.5/1.
As a reminder, all ratings are based on live-plus-same-day DVR playback, which includes shows replayed before 3 a.m. the night before. Seven-day DVR data won’t be available for several weeks. Forty-three percent of Nielsen households have DVRs.
At 8 p.m. Fox led with a 6.9 for "Idol," followed by ABC with a 2.5 for "The Middle" (2.6) and "Suburgatory" (2.5). NBC was third with a 1.7 for "Whitney" (1.6) and "Chelsea" (1.8). CBS and Univision tied for fourth at 1.5, CBS for a repeat of "NCIS" and Univision for "Una Familia con Suerte." CW was sixth with a 0.7 for "One Tree Hill" and Telemundo seventh with a 0.6 for "Una Maid en Manhattan."
Fox was first again at 9 p.m. with a 7.5 for more "Idol," while ABC remained second with a 4.0 for "Family" (5.0) and "Happy Endings" (2.9). CBS was third with a 3.2 for "Criminal Minds," Univision fourth with a 1.6 for "La Que No Podia Amar," NBC fifth with a 1.1 for "Harry's Law," Telemundo sixth with a 0.5 for "Flor Salvaje" and CW seventh with a 0.3 for a repeat of "Remodeled," which tied the show's record-low debut on Tuesday.
CBS took the lead at 10 p.m. with a 2.8 for "CSI," with ABC second with a 2.5 for "Revenge." NBC was third with a 1.8 for "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," Univision fourth with a 0.8 for "Dale con Ganas" and Telemundo fifth with a 0.7 for "La Casa de al Lado."
Fox also led the night among households with a 12.2 average overnight rating and a 19 share. CBS was second at 7.1/11, ABC third at 5.0/8, NBC fourth at 3.8/6, Univision fifth at 1.6/3, Telemundo sixth at 0.8/1 and CW seventh at 0.7/1.
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