Thursday Ratings: American Idol Falls, Glee Rises

By On 01/25/2013 · 45 Comments · In American Idol, Glee, Ratings

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American Idol is down. The ratings are still over 5, but for how long? And Glee is up–but against a re-run of “Person of Interest.” Although, Idol has to be a better lead in than the tepid X Factor.

Via TV By The Numbers

On FOX, American Idol  earned a 5.1 down 6% from last week’s 5.6 adults 18-49 rating. Glee returned to a 2.7 adults 18-49 rating up 35%  from a 2.0 for its most recent episode on December 13 when it followed The X Factor.

8:00

FOX American Idol 5.1/14 15.53
CBS The Big Bang Theory – R 3.1/9 11.50
NBC 30 Rock 1.4/4 3.84
CW The Vampire Diaries 1.3/4 2.74
ABC Last Resort – Series Finale 1.2/3 5.39

8:30

CBS Two and a Half Men -R 2.3/6 8.57
NBC Parks and Recreation 1.7/5 3.89

9:00

ABC Grey’s Anatomy 3.0/8 8.88
FOX Glee 2.7/7 6.90
NBC The Office 2.0/5 4.19
CBS Person Of Interest – R 1.9/5 10.00
CW Beauty And The Beast 0.7/2 1.82

9:30

NBC 1600 Penn 1.3/3 3.32

10:00

ABC Scandal – R 1.8/5 5.71
CBS Elementary – R 1.5/4 7.75
NBC Rock Center 0.8/2 3.73

Half Hour Breakdown via Marc Berman

8:00 p.m.

ABC – Last Resort (series finale)
Viewers: 5.74 million (#3), A18-49: 1.2/ 4 (#5)

CBS – The Big Bang Theory (R)
Viewers: 11.49 million (#2), A18-49: 3.1/ 9 (#2)

NBC – 30 Rock
Viewers: 3.84 million (#4), A18-49: 1.4/ 4 (#3)

Fox – American Idol
Viewers: 14.48 million (#1), A18-49: 4.7/13 (#1)

CW – The Vampire Diaries
Viewers: 2.81 million (#5), A18-49: 1.3/ 4 (#4)

———-

8:30 p.m.

ABC – Last Resort (series finale)
Viewers: 5.05 million (#3), A18-49: 1.1/ 3 (#5)

CBS – Two and a Half Men (R)
Viewers: 8.57 million (#2), A18-49: 2.3/ 6 (#2)

NBC – Parks and Recreation
Viewers: 3.89 million (#4), A18-49: 1.7/ 5 (#3)

Fox – American Idol
Viewers: 16.59 million (#1), A18-49: 5.5/15 (#1)

CW – The Vampire Diaries
Viewers: 2.66 million (#5), A18-49: 1.2/ 3 (#4)

———-

9:00 p.m.

ABC – Grey’s Anatomy
Viewers: 8.87 million (#2), A18-49: 3.0/ 8 (#1)

CBS – Person of Interest (R)
Viewers: 9.94 million (#1), A18-49: 1.9/ 5 (#4)

NBC – The Office
Viewers: 4.19 million (#4), A18-49: 2.0/ 5 (#3)

Fox – Glee
Viewers: 7.57 million (#3), A18-49: 2.9/ 8 (#2)

CW – Beauty and the Beast
Viewers: 1.87 million (#5), A18-49: 0.7/ 2 (#5)

———-

9:30 p.m.

ABC – Grey’s Anatomy
Viewers: 8.88 million (#2), A18-49: 3.0/ 8 (#1)

CBS – Person of Interest (R)
Viewers: 10.06 million (#1), A18-49: 1.8/ 5 (#4)

NBC – 1600 Penn
Viewers: 3.32 million (#4), A18-49: 1.3/ 3 (#4)

Fox – Glee
Viewers: 6.22 million (#3), A18-49: 2.4/ 6 (#2)

CW – Beauty and the Beast
Viewers: 1.76 million (#5), A18-49: 0.7/ 2 (#5)

———-

10:00 p.m.

ABC – Scandal (R)
Viewers: 6.04 million (#2), A18-49: 1.9/ 5 (#1)

CBS – Elementary (R)
Viewers: 8.01 million (#1), A18-49: 1.6/ 4 (#2)

NBC – Rock Center With Brian Williams
Viewers: 3.54 million (#3), A18-49: 0.9/ 2 (#3)

———-

10:30 p.m.

ABC – Scandal (R)
Viewers: 5.39 million (#2), A18-49: 1.6/ 5 (#1)

CBS – Elementary (R)
Viewers: 7.49 million (#1), A18-49: 1.4/ 4 (#2)

NBC – Rock Center With Brian Williams
Viewers: 3.91 million (#3), A18-49: 0.8/ 2 (#3)

Source: Nielsen Media Research data

 
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  • BonnieDee

    Season 10 was the first year of Steven Tyler and J-Lo, and there were really good contestants with invested fan bases, especially Scotty, Lauren, and Haley.  Season 11, the contestants were just not as good and there was a drop off in ratings.  Phillip is great, but didn’t really have any other fan bases challenging him too much.  This year, the judges suck and the ratings are falling each week.  They’ve been up against Repeats of Big Bang Theory the last two weeks and they are still falling.  I see a lot of Nicki hate online.  I see Nicki’s disrespectful attitude towards Mariah, who deserves respect for her amazing career in the music business.  I know other people see that too.  Nicki is not well liked at all from what I can see and that is my opinion. I think the ratings will continue to fall.  I have given up on the show and am waiting for the Voice to come on in March.  With Blake, Adam, Shakira, and Usher judging, that is going to be a much better panel IMO.  

  • blackberryharvest

    Idol adjusted up to 5.2, Glee adjusted down to 2.6.

    http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2013/01/25/thursday-final-ratings-american-idol-adjusted-up-glee-adjusted-down/166691/

    Down only 5.5% from last season.

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/PVEFG2TOUIXSROKUSO2O2DOWWE Taylor

    And the majority of those comments on facebook are from over 40 year old housewives.

    Well, that is the main demographic that watches the show and it has been for years.

    How do you know that they are 40 year old housewives anyway? There are thousands of comments. Are you facebook friends with all these people? Do you know that they all don’t have jobs outside the home?

    I’m curious as to how you know the gender, age and occupational status of thousands of random facebook members.

  • chillj

    I tune in to the show weekly, but don’t last long.  It is boring, but auditions have almost always been boring.  I figure I will try again later in the season, or wait for The Voice, but I do think the new female judges are not helping and Nicki is best in small doses; she is a little grating.

    I think one indication of how the show is doing is the number of on line comments on sites that cover it; with the exception of this site, Idol is not getting many comments.  The worst thing that can happen to a show is apathy, and it appears to be happening.

    I think better judge choice could have stimulated more interest.  There are people who are not narcissistic and fun to watch.

  • elliegrll

    Season 11, the contestants were just not as good and there was a drop off in ratings.

    There’s a little problem with this hypothesis, it doesn’t explain the fact that the ratings took a huge drop starting with the first episode of season 11.  That had nothing to do with the quality of those contestants, or how much people liked them.

     

    This year, the judges suck and the ratings are falling each week.

    The judges sucking is subjective.  What’s not subjective is that during season 10 the first episode started out with 26 million viewers, and the show didn’t reach that figure again until the finale.  

    What’s also not subjective is that just like every season, the ratings rose and fell as the season went on.  The first Wednesday show had a demo rating of 9.7, the next night it was 7.8.  The next Wednesday 9.2, the next day 7.7.  Ratings for the Hollywood week episodes, 7.3, 8.2, 7.6.  The first performance of the top 12 dropped to a 6.7.  Top 3 was a 6.3.  Finale 7.2, it didn’t even go back up to the 7.9 of the first episode.  That’s just how the seasons play out.  

    The ratings have been stable this season.

  • blackberryharvest

    I think one indication of how the show is doing is the number of on line
    comments on sites that cover it; with the exception of this site, Idol
    is not getting many comments.

    I haven’t noticed that. Source? Yahoo had over 7000 comments the other night.

  • blackberryharvest

    Season 10 was the first year of Steven Tyler and J-Lo, and there were
    really good contestants with invested fan bases, especially Scotty,
    Lauren, and Haley.

    The ratings in Season 10 were also initially down from Season 9. The started rising later on during the live shows.

    Season 11, the contestants were just not as good and there was a drop off in ratings.

    The ratings were already down during the season premiere. I wouldn’t blame the Season 11 contestants on the drop since the ratings were already dropping before we got to see them.

    This year, the judges suck and the ratings are falling each week.

    The ratings always fall from the premiere week to the 2nd week. This season actually saw smaller drops compared to other seasons.

    They’ve been up against Repeats of Big Bang Theory the last two weeks and they are still falling.

    There was a very small drop from last year’s comparable episode to this year. And the drop this week was very small, especially when you consider tonight’s was only one hour compared to last week.

    I think the ratings will continue to fall.

    That’s a given, just like every other season.

    With Blake, Adam, Shakira, and Usher judging, that is going to be a much better panel IMO. 

    Well we haven’t seen how 2 out of the 4 can judge yet, but okay!

  • chillj

    I go to entertainment related sites:  EW, TV Line, etc.

    Idol has a good thing going; it is almost hard to screw it up, but they try very hard.  All they had to do was elect a passable collection of semi-mature personalities to judge, but they apparently chose for demographic.  

    Choosing personalities for a demographic is fine – as long as you don’t blow off the audience you already have.  Idol is doing just that; there are millions of devoted and invested viewers who apparently are not watching. Why?

  • http://twitter.com/bagel08 John S

    So you watch these shows for the judges? Idk about anybody else, but I could care less who the judges are. I watch the show for the contestants, and in the end the contestants are what make the show. Many other people feel the same way, and that is why the show has continued to be successful.

  • elliegrll

    Why weren’t they watching last year, when the ratings had a big drop?  Or, the year before, or the year before that, when the percentage drop in ratings are similar to what we are seeing now?  

    The second Thursday episode of last season had a demo rating of 5.5 and drew 17.14 million people.   Yesterday’s episode had a demo rating of 5.3 and drew 15.65 million people, that’s not a huge difference.  Especially when we compare it to the drops for season 11 in comparison to season 10:

    The second Thursday episode of season 10 drew 22.48 million people and had a demo rating of 7.7.  Nicki wasn’t on the panel for season 11, so what was the reason for millions of devoted and invested viewers not watching?

  • blackberryharvest

    I looked back on last year’s tvline and the comments were even less than last year-there is more this year already it seems like. I don’t know about EW. I think everything picks up after the auditions end, tvline got popular again last year once the live shows started.

  • Hazehel

    I go to entertainment related sites:  EW, TV Line, etc.

    Not sure which pages you are looking at, but American Idol-related posts at EW have reasonable number of comments, here for example over 100, more than most pages - 
    http://popwatch.ew.com/2013/01/23/american-idol-nicki-minaj-mariah-carey-fight-country/
    (Note to those who say people don’t like Nicki that there are people who support Nicki Minaj.)

    I don’t normally go to TV Line, but it looks like this one on Idol is one of the ones with the most comments after going through several pages - 
    http://tvline.com/2013/01/23/american-idol-recap-season-12-charlotte-auditions-nicki-mariah-fight/

    Idol has a good thing going; it is almost hard to screw it up, but they try very hard. 

    It’s a show with 11 seasons under its belt, how many other shows are there that has this kind of ratings after 11 seasons? I have no idea why people think that Idol will automatically get amazing ratings year after year.  All TV shows decline after some time, and so far nothing suggest that the drop this year is particularly bad compared to what has happened since Season 6 (yes, most years decline by over 10% from 2008 onwards).  

  • chillj

    I saw totals that indicated some column totals are being merged, as magazines sometimes do.  When you go to a columnist at ten am the next morning after a show, you notice who has not been there.

    There are apologists for the show; there are people who actually like the show, but this is the first season where for the first time ever I just can not tolerate it at all. That judges table is a piece of work.

  • wmviii

    I blame Nicki. she’s scaring viewers.. get rid of that attention whore.

  • Hazehel

    I saw totals that indicated some column totals are being merged, as magazines sometimes do.

    I have no idea what you mean, but you just have to scroll through the archive to see the number of comments each article has to see that American Idol articles have above-average number of comments (only a few articles have more) –  
    http://tvline.com/page/5/
    http://popwatch.ew.com/2013/01/page/3/

  • elliegrll

    There are apologists for the show; there are people who actually like the show

    This has been the case from the beginning.  Except, I would say that there are people who like the show and those who don’t.  

    There is no reason to apologize for a show that so far looks like it will once again be in the top 5 in the Nielsen ratings.  Nor for a show that is showing this much stability in the ratings after 12 seasons.  After last year’s drop I think that people were expecting to see a bigger drop this year.

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/QXISMF77FUTM37Y5Z2CGBNSBQU Aaron

    Well, obviously the frau doesn’t like her. Hopefully she scares them off so we can get a different type of winner.

  • http://twitter.com/svmreiter Susan Reiter

    I can say for me that I usually tune in during the auditions.  It’s comfortable and familiar.  I usually do not watch the whole show because after a few contestants and judge comments and Ryan mugging with contestants it starts to feel not as much familiar and comforting as it does worn and tired.  I’ll turn it on now and again.

  • Hazehel

    There is no reason to apologize for a show that so far looks like it will once again be in the top 5 in the Nielsen ratings.

    I think in years past when Idol was getting amazing ratings where none of the other shows can get within touching distance of Idol, a drop wouldn’t look so bad because other shows still can’t touch it even when its ratings dropped.  Now that other shows can, the drop looks worse because other shows can beat it.

    I’m not really sure what Idol can do to arrest the decline, especially in the 18-49 demo – people get old, people get bored, people find other shows more interesting, etc.  A few more years and its premiere may well be in the 3 range.  Idol needs fresh idea if it wants to keep drawing new people to the show to replace those who stopped watching for whatever reasons. Good ideas however are hard to come by, and new ideas can also alienate its existing fans.  It either can try something radical (and risk mass desertion of fans), or it can be content to let the ratings drop naturally.  

  • Hazehel

    There is no reason to apologize for a show that so far looks like it will once again be in the top 5 in the Nielsen ratings.

    I think in years past when Idol was getting amazing ratings where none of the other shows can get within touching distance of Idol, a drop wouldn’t look so bad because other shows still can’t touch it even when its ratings dropped.  Now that other shows can, the drop looks worse because other shows can beat it.

    I’m not really sure what Idol can do to arrest the decline, especially in the 18-49 demo – people get old, people get bored, people find other shows more interesting, etc.  A few more years and its premiere may well be in the 3 range.  Idol needs fresh idea if it wants to keep drawing new people to the show to replace those who stopped watching for whatever reasons. Good ideas however are hard to come by, and new ideas can also alienate its existing fans.  It either can try something radical (and risk mass desertion of fans), or it can be content to let the ratings drop naturally.  

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