Glowing pre-premiere reviews weren’t enough to keep American Idol XIII from dipping in double digits compared to last season. Also, the fall edition of The Voice also beat Idol’s demo numbers. The great reviews continue to roll in even from prickly pundits such as Linda Holmes of NPR and Dave Holmes of Vulture.
Hopefully, word of mouth will help stabilize this weeks numbers. Kevin Reilly told reporters at TCA earlier this week that he expected numbers to drop vs last season. We’ll see if the changes can stave the hemorrhaging Idol experienced last season.
UPDATE: Duck Dynasty vs Idol Via THR
Cable’s reigning unscripted hit pulled 8.5 million viewers at 10 p.m. That’s just 400,000 shy of the December Christmas special (8.9 million viewers) and 3.3 million down from last summer’s record-breaking fourth season opener — the latter still standing as a series high with11.8 million viewers.
In the targeted demographic, Duck Dynasty averaged 4.2 million adults 18-49. That’s enough to make it the top cable program of the night — though it did not top American Idol. Fox’s competition, which premiered its 13th season at 8 p.m., easily outperformed Duck Dynasty with 15 million total viewers. The two were closer in the key demo, with American Idol outrating Duck Dynasty by 28 percent.
Vs The Voice: The Fall premiere beat American Idol in the demo
On NBC, The Voice season 5 premiere earned a 4.9, up from last fall’s 4.2 and last spring’s 4.8 adults 18-49 rating, and the highest Voice premiere premiere since the post-Super Bowl start of the second seasonon Feb. 5, 2012.
The Voice numbers were later adjusted up to 5.1
Preliminary overnight ratings are in. Last night’s American Idol premiere was down 20% in total households. I’ll post the demo figures as soon as they are available. Via Marc Berman
The return of “American Idol” on Fox opened season 13 with a dominant 9.4 rating/15 share in the household overnights from 8-10 p.m., peaking at 8:30 p.m. with a 9.8/15. While dominance is certainly a positive, “Idol” (now featuring Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban and Harry Connick, Jr.) dipped year-to-year by 20 percent from an 11.7/18 (on 1/16/13). And that 11.7 overnight rating translated into 17.93 million and a 6.0 rating/16 share among adults 18-49 (according to the live plus same day data).
The Demo numbers are in
American Idol returned Wednesday night to once again post its lowest premiere rating ever. The 13th season of Fox’s veteran reality series delivered 15 million viewers and a 4.6 adults 18-49 rating, down 23 percent from last year — even though new judge Harry Connick Jr. is getting glowing reviews from critics and fans.
Network ratings via TVByTheNumbers
8:00PM
FOX American Idol (8-10PM) -P 4.6 13 14.99
ABC The Middle 1.8 6 7.47
NBC Revolution 1.3 4 4.91
CBS Two and a Half Men -R 1.2 4 5.48
CW Arrow 0.9 3 2.498:30PM
ABC Suburgatory -P 1.6 5 5.27
CBS The Millers -R 1.1 3 4.959:00PM
ABC Modern Family 3.2 9 9.10
CBS Criminal Minds 2.4 7 10.47
NBC Law & Order: SVU 1.5 4 5.46
CW The Tomorrow People 0.6 2 1.599:30PM
ABC Super Fun Night 1.6 4 4.62
10:00PM
CBS CSI 2.0 6 10.26
NBC Chicago PD 1.5 4 5.54
ABC Nashville 1.3 4 5.05
Half Hour Breakdown via Marc Berman
8:00 p.m.
ABC – The Middle
Viewers: 7.47 million (#2), A18-49: 1.8/ 6 (#2)CBS – Two and a Half Men (R)
Viewers: 5.48 million (#3), A18-49: 1.2/ 4 (#4)NBC – Revolution
Viewers: 5.11 million (#4), A18-49: 1.3/ 4 (#3)Fox – American Idol (season premiere)
Viewers: 14.01 million (#1), A18-49: 4.0/13 (#1)CW – Arrow
Viewers: 2.29 million (#5), A18-49: 0.9/ 3 (#5)———-
8:30 p.m.
ABC – Suburgatory (season premiere)
Viewers: 5.27 million (#2), A18-49: 1.6/ 5 (#2)CBS –The Millers (R)
Viewers: 4.95 million (#3), A18-49: 1.1/ 4 (#4)NBC – Revolution
Viewers: 4.70 million (#4), A18-49: 1.3/ 4 (#3)Fox – American Idol (season premiere)
Viewers: 15.34 million (#1), A18-49: 4.6/13 (#1)CW – Arrow
Viewers: 2.58 million (#5), A18-49: 1.0/ 3 (#5)———-
9:00 p.m.
ABC – Modern Family
Viewers: 9.10 million (#3), A18-49: 3.2/ 9 (#2)CBS – Criminal Minds
Viewers: 10.28 million (#2), A18-49: 2.4/ 7 (#3)NBC – Law & Order: SVU
Viewers: 5.22 million (#4), A18-49: 1.4/ 4 (#4)Fox – American Idol (season premiere)
Viewers: 15.77 million (#1), A18-49: 5.0/14 (#1)CW – The Tomorrow People
Viewers: 1.69 million (#5), A18-49: 0.6/ 2 (#5)———-
9:30 p.m.
ABC – Super Fun Night
Viewers: 4.62 million (#4), A18-49: 1.6/ 4 (#3)CBS – Criminal Minds
Viewers: 10.65 million (#2), A18-49: 2.5/ 7 (#2)NBC – Law & Order: SVU
Viewers: 5.69 million (#3), A18-49: 1.5/ 4 (#3)Fox – American Idol (season premiere)
Viewers: 14.87 million (#1), A18-49: 4.7/12 (#1)CW – The Tomorrow People
Viewers: 1.49 million (#5), A18-49: 0.6/ 2 (#5)———-
10:00 p.m.
ABC – Nashville
Viewers: 5.09 million (#3), A18-49: 1.3/ 4 (#3)CBS – CSI
Viewers: 10.42 million (#1), A18-49: 2.1/ 6 (#1)NBC – Chicago PD
Viewers: 5.63 million (#2), A18-49: 1.5/ 4 (#2)———-
10:30 p.m.
ABC – Nashville
Viewers: 5.01 million (#3), A18-49: 1.3/ 4 (#3)CBS – CSI
Viewers: 10.10 million (#1), A18-49: 1.9/ 6 (#1)NBC – Chicago PD
Viewers: 5.45 million (#2), A18-49: 1.4/ 4 (#2)Source: Nielsen Media Research
Idol Through the Years
Chart via EW
