Since its debut in 2002, the singing contest "American Idol" on Fox network has been a giant in television ratings.
Now on its 11th season, the network still claims to have the nation's most-watched show even with “Idol” losing 23 percent of its total audience this year, according to Reuters. The report came out May 23, a day before the latest winner was announced.
Over the years, however, the show has lost viewers due to a variety of reasons. Predictability is one of them, as proven once again when Phillip Phillips, who shares his "White Guy With Guitar" quality with the winners of the past four seasons, getting the highest number of votes in this season's competition
Phillips, 21, from Georgia beat ballad singer Jessica Sanchez, 16, of California in the public vote. Interestingly, Sanchez had a 17 percent lead in Yahoo! searches and generated 60 percent more mentions in social media than Phillips, according to a survey by analytics company General Sentiment.
The decline in ratings has prompted some soul-searching among those involved in the show, who are wondering what went wrong, Brian Stelter wrote in the New York Times.
Sanchez "would have been the first Latina to win, visibly representing change for a program that some TV critics have labeled boring," Stelter wrote.
Once derisively described as the "death star" by rival television executives, American Idol has instead eclipsed everything in prime-time TV as Fox topped ratings in 2007. Nielsen Media Research said the talent contest's season premiere that year was the most-watched in its six-year history, with around 37.3 million viewers.
But 2008 saw an 11 percent decline in the popular series, which nevertheless kept its rank as the most-watched show of the TV season, excluding sports. That year was seen as a dull season for American Idol, with viewers finding the show boring and predictable.
"Because the talent level was so high, nothing anyone did was surprising," regular "Idol" viewer Mike Anderson said in a previous report.
The show suffered a decline in TV viewership, particularly among teenagers and women from 18 to 34.
Things changed on the show after that, with less time featuring tryouts and more contestants brought to Hollywood. According to executive producer Ken Warwick, however, these changes were not in response to the previous season's 7 percent ratings dip.
In 2009, Paula Abdul left after eight seasons of being the “craziest judge” on the show. Abdul's departure came as "Idol" steadily lost viewers.
The show had 25.5 million viewers in 2009, less than 26.8 million in 2007-2008, and 30 million in both 2006-2007 and 2005-2006.
In 2010, caustic judge Simon Cowell left the show to focus on "The X Factor."
Fox executives promised to boost the show, which would feature Cowell's replacement.
2011 was a year of changes as the show welcomed new judges Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez. The 10th season also saw a switch in its time slot, which was moved from Tuesday and Wednesday night broadcasts to Wednesday and Thursday.
Meanwhile, Cowell continued on "Britain's Got Talent," which found a rival in newcomer "The Voice" in 2012. "The Voice" also turned out to be serious competition for "Idol," especially after getting superstar ratings early this year.
In March 2012, LA Times blog Show Tracker said it was clear that "Idol" had handed its ratings crown to "The Voice."
Citing figures released by Nielsen, the blog said "Idol" had lost its viewers ages 18 to 49 to "The Voice," which drew a 6.2 rating. "Idol" was given a 5.7 rating, but still managed to be the most-watched program among all viewers.
The New York Times’ Stelter wrote that "Idol" executive producer Nigel Lythgoe cited "The Voice" when asked to explain the ratings drop the week before this season's finale. Lythgoe also mentioned Cowell's "The X Factor," another Fox show.
Although "Idol" is still No. 1 after 11 seasons, it will have to fight to keep its position, Stelter said, quoting Entertainment Weekly managing editor Jess Cagle.
“While the show still does solid numbers for us online, it’s no longer the juggernaut it once was,” Cagle told Stelter.
"Americal Idol" will have some "creative reinvigoration" next season, Stelter quoted Fox president of entertainment Kevin Reilly. Auditions for season 12 begin on June 7 in Los Angeles. - YA, GMA News
source: gmanetwork.com
