American Idol is the No 1 Social Primetime Program on Broadcast TV

Remember the days when producers forced American Idol contestants to take down their Youtube channels and had to set aside their social media accounts for the duration of the competition? Contestants couldn’t even talk to the press. Those days are long over.

According to a new piece from Billboard, American Idol has been the No. 1 social primetime program across broadcast TV every week this season. The recent Disney-themed episode totalled two million social interactions, per Nielsen Media. An all-time high for Idol, it also marked a 54% increase over last year’s Disney Night.

“Times have definitely changed since Idol started in 2002, when there wasn’t even YouTube or all the social channels we have now,” showrunner and executive producer Trish Kinane told Billboard, “It’s very much been a decision in the last few years to encourage [the] digital [team] and have them embedded into the program team and help them tell the story of the contestants from the auditions to the finale.”

What’s more, the growth in the contestant’s social media presence has helped Idol pick up nearly one million followers across social media platforms this season. Fremantle provided the Instagram numbers for the Top 6.

Alejandro Aranda is the clear winner in terms of social media numbers. Interestingly, the contestant with the highest numbers doesn’t necessarily win. Nevertheless, coming away from a singing show with a half million followers–up from a few thousand–is not a bad deal.

TheLaineHardy