Quote:‘Idol’ Grapples With Its Own Competition

As Fox’s “American Idol” wraps its 11th season this week with a sing-off between Phillip Phillips and Jessica Sanchez, those involved with the show are asking what went wrong, a rare dose of soul-searching for a show that has been the runaway hit of this century.

“Idol” lost nearly a quarter of its audience this season (it is still huge), dipping below 20 million viewers for the first time since 2003, when a ratings surge made it the No. 1 entertainment program on American television. The drop-off was even more steep among viewers ages 18 to 49, the demographic mostly highly sought by the networks.

...Fox has been paying close attention to the social-media chatter this season, and it says the millions of comments affirm that “Idol” remains the most culturally relevant show on television.

But the ultimate judge remains the Nielsen ratings. Last year, when “Idol” rebounded slightly from lows that were a record in 2010, a typical episode garnered 24.7 million viewers, excluding the finale week. Of those viewers, 10.8 million were between the ages of 18 and 49. Compare that with this year, when a typical episode has attracted about 19.2 million viewers, 7.5 million of whom are in that same demographic.

...Nigel Lythgoe, an executive producer of “Idol,” cited “The Voice” when he was asked to explain the ratings drop last week. “It’s never been like this before,” he said.

Mr. Lythgoe also cited “The X Factor,” the rival singing competition created by Simon Cowell that had its premiere on Fox last fall.

...Jess Cagle, managing editor of Entertainment Weekly, said he had seen evidence of “Idol” fatigue in the magazine’s sales and Web traffic. “While the show still does solid numbers for us online, it’s no longer the juggernaut it once was,” Mr. Cagle said. Online page views for “Idol” coverage this season are about half of what they were in 2010, he said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/23/arts/television/american-idol-ponders-a-ratings-dip-on-fox.html

Quote:A lot of things likely contributed to the decline, but I can't help but think back to how the Idol audience for the performance finale dropped by three million people when Haley was eliminated. By that point, the machinations of the show had been laid bare and it was clear to even casual observers that the judging in the later rounds was biased against Haley. No doubt many people -- new viewers and longtime viewers alike -- were left with such a bad taste in their mouth they swore off watching the show again.

(05-23-2012, 09:27 AM)Miguel Wrote: I stand by the assertion that I made in the first post of this thread back in January:

Quote:A lot of things likely contributed to the decline, but I can't help but think back to how the Idol audience for the performance finale dropped by three million people when Haley was eliminated. By that point, the machinations of the show had been laid bare and it was clear to even casual observers that the judging in the later rounds was biased against Haley. No doubt many people -- new viewers and longtime viewers alike -- were left with such a bad taste in their mouth they swore off watching the show again.

Quote:"American Idol" Loser Memorial: When A Fan Loves an Idol
Posted by
Louis Virtel on May 18, 2012

"No matter who dropped out during Thursday's telecast, we'd be better off than last season when the righteous, riled-up Haley Reinhart tried everything to crack the top 2, failed, and left us with the most uninteresting final duo in the show's history."

http://www.afterelton.com/tv/2012/05/ame...-3-results

(05-23-2012, 11:38 AM)Flask Man Wrote: My take...

1. Bad start. "Auditions" and "Hollywood Week" have become so stale, boring and predictable that nobody cares anymore. The live shows begin with very little buzz as a result.

2. The Joshua Effect. The judges literally gave him a standing ovation every performance, every show, the entire season, starting in Hollywood. In addition, they told him he was he greatest singer of the past 50 years, best to ever appear on a talent show, best to ever live, and best that any of them have ever seen or heard. The desperation pimping was so flagrant it turned the judges and the show into laughingstocks.

3. Lack of dynamic talent. The "big moments" that create water cooler discussion and buzz were not there, and the "standing ovations" were obviously predetermined and contrived. Without any "wow" factor apathy sets in.

4. No sex appeal. Last season had Haley and Pia, and it doesn't get any hotter than that. Guys love ogling and drooling over hot babes, and the fact that these girls also happened to be tremendous singers made it legit. The girls had their Fano eye-candy to heart-throb over, too. This year? Nothing.

5. The Season 10 shadow. Last year had a heavy impact on this year, more than ever, because fans were not letting go of their previous season Idols like before. Not only Haliens, but also McReerians, Durbinators, Alainers, etc, all clung to their AI10 favorites so tightly that they never got their hearts behind this season's bland crop.

6. Talent show burnout. Too many singing competitions now, so everything runs together. When Idol was the only gig in town it meant more. Now? It's sometimes hard to keep track of who's on what show. The Voice, X-Factor, Idol, America's Got Talent, Duets....ENOUGH! I'm done with it.

Quote:...what about all these cute boys? Where is their overabundance of luck coming from?... when texting broke 178 million per season during Season 8 – the year of Kris Allen’s surprise victory – it still only accounted for a small fraction of the total votes. Myth of the Tweeny Texter Tyrants: Busted!

So where is the trend coming from if not thanks to squealing, bright-eyed teens? The answer likely lies with their mothers. In its 11 seasons, Idol’s median viewership has aged 14 years, from 34 to 48 and while it hasn’t lost its teens altogether, is has lost its formerly strong grip on them. In fact, that would explain why in recent seasons, Idol producers have scrambled to find ways to bring the young audience back: Introducing MySpace auditions, lowering the minimum age for contestants to 15, and most recently adding the ability to vote on Facebook. Yet, the median age is still on rise and we’re poised to see another cute southern young man take the title while talented folks like Skylar Laine and Joshua Ledet join the list of unappreciated Idol contestants like past cast-offs Blake Lewis, Haley Reinhart, and Elliott Yamin, all of whom are missing check marks in either the “cute,” “boy,” or “Southern” check boxes.

...Still, what can we do? Idol doesn’t collect data on its voters and its process allows for multiple votes – just ask Arkansas, who reportedly turned into 34 million votes from a state of 2.8 million people to crown Kris Allen Season 8’s Idol – so perhaps it’s time for a new order. Either limit voters to one vote a piece (or perhaps three for voters wily enough to know they can vote once by text, once by phone, and once by web) or start up some sort of American Idol Electoral College.That way, we aren’t subjected to the will of the mega voters as we watch our perfectly reasonable single votes crushed under their weight of the Cute Boy Army, whatever age and gender they may actually be.

(05-24-2012, 09:42 AM)Miguel Wrote: Yet, the median age is still on rise and we’re poised to see another cute southern young man take the title while talented folks like Skylar Laine and Joshua Ledet join the list of unappreciated Idol contestants like past cast-offs Blake Lewis, Haley Reinhart, and Elliott Yamin, all of whom are missing check marks in either the “cute,” “boy,” or “Southern” check boxes.

Quote:That way, we aren’t subjected to the will of the mega voters as we watch our perfectly reasonable single votes crushed under their weight of the Cute Boy Army, whatever age and gender they may actually be.