The 10th season of American Idol, with its new panel of judges, did what it always has done in the past with TV ratings, and that’s dominate. I’m finding some fascinating headlines out there this morning that seem to be more shock-oriented to draw people in… Sure, AI had the biggest drop yet, compared to last year. That does sound terrible and almost fulfilling, considering they’re without Simon. But what the headlines don’t say is that it still crushed all other programming. American Idol came in with an average 16.4 rating & and 24 share for the two hours it was on. (16.4/24)
Of note, Idol’s TV ratings were around 11% lower than last year with Simon. To be honest, I’m not sure that is an indicator reflecting Simon’s absence or viewers just not tuning in any more to the tried and true formula of American Idol.
Compared that to Paula Abdul’s new show, Live to Dance, who was up against Idol, the ex-Idol judge’s show pulled in a 3.7/6.
If you’re wondering about the move of Blue Bloods to Wednesdays, it survived with a 7.9/13 in its 10pm time slot. In fact, it dominated the 10pm time slot. Blue Bloods lead-in, Criminal Minds survived the Live to Dance lead-in, and pulled in an 8.0/12.
Off the Map… might be headed Off the TV… ratings for this “ER in the woods” show dwindled in viewers in its second week, with a 4.2/7. That was a 24% drop in viewers.
Off the Map is a great premise to be honest with you. Almost every medical drama show I’ve watched, someone in the cast heads to a third-world country for some rotation and daring experiences and adventures. They always come back feeling good about saving lives in that kind of situation. It’s literally a traveling medical drama that shows us a slightly different aspect of the medical world in a country that doesn’t have the best medical infrastructure. All the while, the doctors improvise to save their patients lives, like using coconut milk as a blood substitute when blood supplies are low. Cute, but so far, it’s not translating to something that viewers might consider engaging.
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Last Week:
For the week of January 10th, top performers included
(In Total Viewers):
- NFC Playoff: Green Bay at Atlanta (Fox): 30.82 million,
- NCIS (CBS): 21.93,
- NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS): 18.13,
- 60 Minutes (CBS): 17.40,
- The 68th Annual Golden Globe Awards (NBC): 17.00,
- Undercover Boss (CBS): 13.79,
- The Good Wife (CBS): 12.29,
- Grey’s Anatomy (ABC): 12.15,
- Modern Family (ABC): 11.12,
- CSI: Miami (CBS): 10.91,
- Wipeout (ABC): 10.64, (11th)
- The Mentalist (CBS): 10.32, (13th)
- CSI: NY (CBS): 9.56, (19th)
- Castle (ABC): 9.05, (21st)
- The Biggest Loser: Couples (NBC): 8.79, (23rd)
- The Bachelor (ABC): 8.46, (25th)
- Law & Order: SVU (NBC): 8.39, (26th)
- Off the Map (ABC, series premiere): 7.57 (29th),
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Check out the difference in rankings between total viewers and the advertisers much coveted Adults 18-49 category rankings:
- NFC Playoff: Green Bay at Atlanta (Fox): 11.2 rating/32 share,
- The 68th Annual Golden Globe Awards (NBC): 5.2/14,
- NCIS (CBS): 4.5/12,
- Grey’s Anatomy (ABC): 4.3/12,
- Modern Family (ABC): 4.2/11,
- 60 Minutes (CBS): 4.0/10,
- Wipeout (ABC): 3.7/11,
- NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS): 3.7/10, (8th)
- The Biggest Loser: Couples (NBC): 3.2/ 8 (12th)
- The Bachelor (ABC): 2.8/ 7, (18th)
- Law & Order: SVU (NBC): 2.5/ 7, (21st)
- CSI: Miami (CBS): 2.4/ 7, (23rd)
- Off the Map (ABC, series premiere); 2.3/ 6 (27th)
- Castle (ABC): 2.1/ 5, (29th)
- CSI R (CBS), 2.0/ 5 (33rd)
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Do you see how 60 Minutes crept in there, with a huge set of numbers in the desirable demographic. Welcome to the underpinnings of the business of television and TV ratings. And these days, TV ratings is just a part of the equation.
Source: The Programming Insider at MediaWeek; If you want to understand what the #.#/#’s mean, check out my quick explanation of TV Ratings.
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