UPDATE from TV By The Numbers:
Another UPDATE:
Fox had Nielsen do a rush job on the time zone adjusted final national ratings and American Idol was adjusted up to a 7.4 adults 18-49 rating, which was down 24% vs. the 9.8 rating for last Wednesday’s premiere, and 21.9 million viewers.
Now that the key demo stats are in, the news is even worse. American Idol’s ratings dipped 27 percent in the key 18-49 demo. The number of viewers fell off by 5M viewers. OUCHIE.
American Idol’s season premiere drew a 7.2 adults 18-49 rating, down 27% vs. a 9.8 rating for last season’s Wednesday premiere. Its 21.6 million average viewership was down vs. 26.25 million for last season’s Wednesday premiere.
From Marc Berman of Media Insights:
The two-hour 11th season-premiere of American Idol led Fox to a hefty Wednesday overnight victory, no doubt. And it will surely dominate among adults 18-49 and all key demos. But as good as a 13.6 rating/21 share from 8-10 p.m. sounds, it actually dipped by 17 percent from the year-ago season-opener (16.4/24 on 1/19/11). Here is the half-hour breakdown:
American Idol (Fox)
8:00 p.m.: 12.8/20 (#1)
8:30 p.m.: 14.1/22 (#1)
9:00 p.m.: 13.5/20 (#1)
9:30 p.m.: 13.9/21 (#1)
The S10 Season opener declined 11% from the year before.
These are just preliminary numbers by households. We should have the demo breakdowns and viewer stats by noon at the latest. So STAY TUNED.
