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Rodney Ho of the Atlanta Journal Constitution posted new statistics about American Idol. Nothing here is really a surprise, but I thought it might be fun to discuss. We know that the median age for Idol has been rising each year, and that Season 5 had the best ratings average of all 10 seasons.

The most-watched  regular season show (not a finale) actually came in Season 6 when the Seattle auditions on January 17, 2007  had 36.9 million viewers.

Rodney thinks the show will lose viewers this year (the show averaged 23.1 million viewers, up from 22.3 million season nine.) Due to age, competition from other shows and lack of new buzz.

I tend to agree. I think the ratings will remain the same, but will go down a little bit.  X Factor and competition from The Voice will erode the shows viewer base, but I don’t think Idol will take a major hit.  Idol, after all, is still the daddy of all singing competitions.

You can read Rodney’s analysis at the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

• Led by “American Idol,” Fox has been the highest rated network in adults 18-49 for the past seven seasons (Fox was also tied for first in fourth quarter 2011 in the demo for only the second time in a decade, led by such new shows as “The X Factor,” “Terra Nova” and “The New Girl”).
• The median age of “American Idol” viewers has increased each and every season since Year 1 (31.9) to year 10 (47.4).
• Year 5 (in 2006) was the highest rated averaging 30.3 million viewers that year Taylor Hicks beat Kat McPhee.  Year 5 was the last time a regularly scheduled program averaged over 30 million viewers for an entire season on television.
• Year 10 (in 2011) saw an increase in viewing, the first time that has happened since Year 5.
• Highest telecast was the Year 2 (in 2003) finale Ruben Studdard vs. Clay Aiken, which averaged 38.1 million viewers.
• According to an Ad Age survey, the ad rate for American Idol in 2012 ranges between $468,100 (Thursday) & $502,900 (Wednesday).  Only NBC’s Sunday Night Football in prime time in 2011-12 was higher at $512,367