Updated Season 6 ratings chart. Just for you groovy peeps.
Tuesday’s preliminary ratings:
The placement of “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” next to “American Idol” got top marks for Fox — and delivered the highest series premiere on any network in viewership in nearly nine years.
That was in addition to the 90-minute “American Idol” that averaged 30.6 million viewers and a 12.2/30 in the demo.
Things were looking good for Fox all around, with “Idol” up 1% from the same night last year and up 3% compared with last Tuesday, when there were 12 male contestants, not the 10 like last night. But the “5th Grader” premiere was the surprise, retaining 93% of its demo lead-in and 88% of the “Idol” viewership.
Yes, Tuesday’s Top 20 show ratings exceeded the same night from Season 5:
| Tue 02/28 | Top 10 Girls | 12.4/31 | 30m |
However, TPTB must be totally in love with the Antonella racy pics scandal. Compare last week’s (2/12-2/18) Top 24 ratings with the same week–Top 24–from last year:
| Tue 2/21 | Top 12 Girls | 13.0/30 | 30.2m |
| We 2/22 | Top 12 Guys | 13.5/33 | 31.7m |
| Thu 2/23 | Top 24 Results | 9.9/24 | 23.4m |
| Tue 2/21 | Top 12 Guys | 11.8/30 | 29.5m |
| Wed 2/22 | Top 12 Girls | 12.3/31 | 30.5m |
| Thu 2/23 | Top 24 Results | 9.0/23 | 24.4m |
Both Tuesday and Wednesday night’s Season 6 Top 24 shows were down from last year–by around 1 million viewers. This past Tuesday saw a bump, probably from the scandal.
Ratings for last week, 2/12-2/18, had ABC’s Road to the Oscars and Grey’s Anatomy both ahead of Tuesday (#5) and Thursday’s (#6) American Idol telecasts at #2 and #3 respectively. The Oscar Telecast was #1 for the week, with American Idol’s Wednesday telecast behind it at #2.
Wednesday’s preliminary ratings:
“Idol” averaged 29.6 million viewers and an 11.8/30 in the demo between 8 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.
Season 5:
| Wed 3/1 | Top 10 Guys | 12.2/31 | 29.6m |
The 18-34 demo is higher, but the total viewers are about the same.
Thursday’s preliminary ratings:
“American Idol” averaged 27.1 million viewers and a 10.4 rating/26 share in adults 18-49, according to preliminary data released Friday by Nielsen Media Research.
Season 5:
| Thu 3/2 | Top 20 Results | 10.9/27 | 27.8m |
Hmmm. Season 5’s comparable Thursday night ratings were higher.
While the first few week’s of Idol saw huge ratings increases from last year, the ratings margin between Season 5 and Season 6 appears to be narrowing as the new season progresses…
