Thursday Ratings: American Idol Falls, Glee Stays Steady

By On 03/22/2013 · 216 Comments · In American Idol, Glee, Ratings

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American Idol is down 10 percent from last week. The good news is that, airing opposite basketball, it won the demo for the hour. Glee stays even with last week, but lost audience in the second half hour.

ETA: This article assessing Idol’s ratings free fall from Entertainment Weekly is sobering. “But Idol is dropping nearly every week and last night was down 50 percent from its Thursday night premiere this season … and that’s scary.” Idol was down 33% from the comparable episode last season.

Via TVByTheNumbers

On FOX, American Idol scored a 2.8 adults 18-49 rating, down 10 percent from last week’s 3.1. Glee earned a 2.0 adults 18-49 rating even with last week.

8:00

FOX American Idol 2.8/9 11.65
ABC Wife Swap – Season Premiere 1.7/5 5.00
CBS 2013 NCAA Basketball Tournament (8-11PM) – Live 1.6/5 4.70
CW The Vampire Diaries 1.2/4 2.55
NBC Community 1.1/4 3.02

8:30

NBC 1600 Penn 0.9/3 2.54

9:00

ABC Grey’s Anatomy 2.9/8 9.11
FOX Glee 2.0/6 5.89
NBC The Office – R 0.9/2 2.31
CW Beauty And The Beast 0.7/2 1.77

9:30

NBC 1600 Penn 0.8/2 2.29

10:00

ABC Scandal 2.7/8 8.57
NBC Law & Order: SVU – R 1.1/3 4.22

Half Hour Breakdown by Marc Berman

8:00 p.m.

ABC – Wife Swap (season premiere)
Viewers: 4.80 million (#3), A18-49: 1.5/ 5 (#3)

CBS – NCAA Basketball: Second-Round Games
Viewers: 5.79 million (#2), A18-49: 1.9/ 6 (#2)

NBC – Community
Viewers: 3.02 million (#4), A18-49: 1.1/ 4 (#5)

Fox – American Idol
Viewers: 10.86 million (#1), A18-49: 2.6/ 9 (#1)

CW – The Vampire Diaries
Viewers: 2.63 million (#5), A18-49: 1.2/ 4 (#4)

———-

8:30 p.m.

ABC – Wife Swap (season premiere)
Viewers: 5.21 million (#3), A18-49: 1.8/ 5 (#3)

CBS – NCAA Basketball: Second-Round Games
Viewers: 6.41 million (#2), A18-49: 2.2/ 7 (#2)

NBC – 1600 Penn
Viewers: 2.54 million (#4), A18-49: 0.9/ 3 (#5)

Fox – American Idol
Viewers: 12.45 million (#1), A18-49: 3.0/ 9 (#1)

CW – The Vampire Diaries
Viewers: 2.48 million (#5), A18-49: 1.2/ 4 (#4)

———-

9:00 p.m.

ABC – Grey’s Anatomy
Viewers: 8.99 million (#1), A18-49: 2.8/ 8 (#1)

CBS – NCAA Basketball: Second-Round Games
Viewers: 5.07 million (#3), A18-49: 1.6/ 5 (#3)

NBC – The Office (R)
Viewers: 2.31 million (#4), A18-49: 0.9/ 2 (#4)

Fox – Glee
Viewers: 6.51 million (#2), A18-49: 2.2/ 6 (#2)

CW – Beauty and the Beast
Viewers: 1.74 million (#5), A18-49: 0.6/ 2 (#5)

———-

9:30 p.m.

ABC – Grey’s Anatomy
Viewers: 9.22 million (#1), A18-49: 2.9/ 8 (#1)

CBS – NCAA Basketball: Second-Round Games
Viewers: 4.34 million (#3), A18-49: 1.5/ 4 (#3)

NBC – 1600 Penn
Viewers: 2.29 million (#4), A18-49: 0.8/ 2 (#4)

Fox – Glee
Viewers: 5.28 million (#2), A18-49: 1.8/ 5 (#2)

CW – Beauty and the Beast
Viewers: 1.81 million (#5), A18-49: 0.7/ 2 (#5)

———-

10:00 p.m.

ABC – Scandal
Viewers: 8.63 million (#1), A18-49: 2.8/ 8 (#1)

CBS – NCAA Basketball: Second-Round Games
Viewers: 3.71 million (#3), A18-49: 1.4/ 4 (#2)

NBC – Law & Order: SVI (R)
Viewers: 3.80 million (#2), A18-49: 1.0/ 3 (#3)

———-

10:30 p.m.

ABC – Scandal
Viewers: 8.51 million (#1), A18-49: 2.7/ 8 (#1)

CBS – NCAA Basketball: Second-Round Games
Viewers: 2.89 million (#3), A18-49: 1.1/ 3 (#3)

NBC – Law & Order: SVI (R)
Viewers: 4.64 million (#2), A18-49: 1.2/ 3 (#2)

Source: Nielsen Media Research data

 
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  • Mateja Praznik

    Agreed 100%. Basically, the show is stuck in a rut.

  • Karen C

    I think this has been more of a problem the past couple of years, since Jimmy Iovine became the mentor, and the new judges came on. In the few years before that, originality was encouraged more than it is now. Though a few have been able to break through this.

  • http://twitter.com/tinawinabina Tinawina

    I agree. They have to cast those people and then support them once they are there. It’s okay to keep some of the classic types, but mix in some newer ones too.

  • http://twitter.com/tinawinabina Tinawina

    I see that to a degree, but there is also the question of what kinds of “originality” the audience likes. People have tried all kinds of things during the Jimmy era but only some things stuck. But he definitely has a hand in pushing people towards “safe” hits of yesteryear, I agree.

  • http://twitter.com/facenfield David Facenfield

    to (mis)quote the bard… therein lies the rub…
    has that ship sailed, esp now that The Voice and US X Factor promote and encourage a wider range of music styles… including more modern uptempo pop/dance/RnB… is it too little too late for AI to make that key change… and if the do will they alienate the loyal viewers they still have…
    to find out, tune in Jan 2014…

  • elliegrll

    I don’t think that the problems started this year. There have been problems with the casting for years. The 18-49 year old demographic has been going down for years. Season 8 didn’t see higher ratings than season 7, and the same goes for season 11 in comparison to season 10. Season 10 eventually saw a ratings increase in comparison to 9, but that’s because the ratings for the live rounds of season 9 were so bad. Only 14 million people tuned in for the final two performance episode last year. That’s a far cry from the 20 million plus that that show used to see.

    The casting that has given us the same type of people every year, a lack of diversity among the cast, and people who need an injection of personality, but who also need to know how to sing, has been turning off younger viewers for years. This season has been hurt by the mistakes that the producers have made over the past few years just as much as it is being hurt by a very poor cast.

  • elliegrll

    I don’t think so. I think one of the main problems with the show is that they keep casting the same type of people, and that’s why we have seen the big ratings drops that have occurred over the past two seasons. I’m sure that it’s not just church music directors who are trying out for this show, so I don’t know why they continue to make up a large part of the cast each season.

  • http://twitter.com/facenfield David Facenfield

    as someone with a Y chromosome, i hope this doesn’t come across as patronising… its not meant to… but well said

  • http://twitter.com/facenfield David Facenfield

    LOL’ing at de-swaggication… love that term… hope you don’t mind but I am adding it to be my vocab… be prepared to see me using it mercilessly on this blog!

  • http://twitter.com/facenfield David Facenfield

    agree, I suspect they are steered away from it… and only the chosen few, or those that push back…manage to break through.

  • http://twitter.com/Stooch101 Stooch

    I agree completely, I’m still not sure how I feel about the way TV did it, but the one thing that can’t be argued is you actually have to sell to take advantage of it

  • Karen C

    That’s why I think a large part of the audience are rock and alternative rock fans, because the originality that did well tends to be alt rock or rock, and some country, either with song choices or arrangements.

  • mjsbigblog

    ITA. If Melanie had faced off against either Josh or Chris in a two-way final, she would have lost.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Judy-Smith/100002526170283 Judy Smith

    I agree Girlygirl about Angela . If she goes down the same path as Colton it should be quite good for her.Also selfishly better for me in Australia as it means her music will be more readily available here [than if she went the more mainstream path where she would be lost in the crowd ]

  • Reflects On Life

    Perfectly stated. All of it.

    For me, Candice v Amber is like Melinda v Jordan. Kinda thrilling if the voters manage to keep Amber afloat. Plus, hidden gems in Burnell & Devin.

  • Reflects On Life

    See, I think that most seasons have pure cannon fodder in the bottom half of the top 10. The only exceptions were S5, S7, S11, and on an entertainment level, S10.

    So why did people watch all that cannon fodder? Speaking for myself (and I’ll bet I’m not alone), I watched during rounds 13->11 because the competition to get on the tour inspired some brilliant performances, and I watched during rounds 10->5 because those top-5 types (especially the ones who weren’t pimped pre-finals) brought out the big guns to get into the top 5 & compete for the win.

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