Ratings: American Idol Finale down 31% from last year, least watched finale ever

by Rickey
May 24, 2012 at 11:41 am

Update: American Idol adjusted up to 6.4

American Idol had a projected 6.3 adult rating last night which was down 31% from last’s years 9.2 rating. The show had 21.5 million total viewers down from last year’s 29 million.

It was the lowest rated and least watched finale of the series. Season one’s finale was watched by 23.02 million viewers.

The good news is that we now have more singing shows to watch on TV: Duets, The Voice, The X Factor and to some extent America’s Got Talent. The glory days are over. Long live American Idol!

The rest of the numbers:

From FOX Research:

Due to final 7 minutes not counted in the Fast Nationals, #AmericanIdol is projected to deliver a 6.3 A18-49 and 21.5 million Total Viewers

#FOX ranked No. 1 last night among Adults 18-49, Adults 18-34, Total Viewers and all demos // @AmericanIdol

With the #AmericanIdol finale last night, #FOX beat the 4-net competition in Adults 18-49, Adults 18-34 and Total Viewers

Last night’s #AmericanIdol finale (projected 21.5 million) is Season 11’s most watched telecast since the season premiere (21.9 million)

@AmericanIdol capped off @FOXBroadcasting eighth consecutive broadcast season victory among Adults 18-49

From TVbytheNumbers:

On FOX, American Idol’s finale results show earned a 6.1 rating, which is down 32% from last year’s finale (which earned a 9.2/26, with 29 million viewers) and is the lowest-rated finale ever for the series. However, the finale was up from last week’s results show, which earned a 4.9 adults 18-49 rating.

On ABC, The Middle finale scored a 2.0, which is down 5% from last year’s finale but up a tenth from last week’s 1.9 among adults 18-49. Modern Family’s finale also was up a tenth from last week, earning a 4.0, but was down 5% from last year’s finale. Don’t Trust The B in Apt. 23 was up considerably from last week’s series low 1.9 rating, earning a 2.5 rating for its series finale. The finale of Revenge earned a 2.4 adults 18-49 rating, up four tenths from last week’s series low 2.0 rating.

On the CW, America’s Next Top Model scored a 0.4 among adults 18-49, even with last week.

American Idol 11 Finale Ratings Ratings: American Idol Finale down 31% from last year, least watched finale ever

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27 comments

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Alex Sarmiento

So in addition to the alleged world record of votes cast, American Idol sets a new record with the least-watched finale in its history. Quelle fucking surprise.

Andrea Villarreal

that-s because it was so boring, the only good part was when Aerosmith showed up

tere

1 Like

Have you guys noticed that every winner of american idol always stands closest or next to the right of Ryan and the looser after. I have checked the last 3 and that has been the norm. This is why I had a suspicion when I saw Phillip first that he was winning before it was announced yesterday.

realphill

will idol be the #1 show this season???

reeceg2012

3 Like

For a show that just ended its 11th season, in today's television world where ratings are down for so many shows on a daily basis, those are still fantastic numbers.

And hey, for all the talk way back in February and March about how The Voice was going to KILL Idol this season, what happened? The Voice ended up exactly where it was last season and failed to do what so many predicted- end up murdering American Idol.

Let's see where The Voice and The X-Factor for that matter are when they hit their 11th season. Oh wait... the chances they will both even be around for a 7th or 8th season are pretty slim.

People can bash Idol ratings from now until January 2013 but a 6.3 and 21 million viewers for something eleven years old is a damn success story to me.

zule

@reeceg2012 Wasn't this suppose to be the best talent in the shows history. What gives?

reeceg2012

1 Like

@zule @reeceg2012 That is subjective. I'm talking numbers.

What one considers "best talent" another can consider "dull and talentless." And that can be said about every reality-competition show. Do I personally think this was the most talented bunch of Idol finalists ever? Nope. Do I personally think they were more talented than what we got on both The X-Factor and The Voice this past season? Yes. But again, all subjective.

This thread is about the ratings specifically and I stand by saying that any program airing for 11 years achieving these numbers is a success, without question. ABC, NBC, CBS, and The CW would kill for that type of longevity from 2002 through today.

Just sayin. :)

Klope62 moderator

3 Like

But don't forget! ...record number of votes!!!!!!! *eyeroll*

Joystickenvy

@Klope62 I laughed every time they repeated that stupid "world record" line. Who exactly are they competing with for this "world record?" Or was that their shift eyed way of admitting they were counting foreign votes? ;)

2 Like

@Klope62 Nigel made a comment on twitter how if they had charged even 5 cents per call, how much money that would raise for charity.

And by charity, I'm sure he meant his favorite: "The Nigel's Bank Account Foundation" :)

elfstar89

1 Like

@JeremyGable Haha. I saw that tweet and thought if you actually charged, you'd be lucky to get have the number of votes that you do. Which begs the question, if he's not making money off of votes, what exactly is the reason that votes have to be unlimited?

reeceg2012

1 Like

@elfstar89 @JeremyGable (a) makes it sound better to say record number of votes obviously and...

(b) let the fan bases duke the hell out of one another. Nothing more fun that having people go nuts for 2 hours (4 hours on finale night) voting via text, phones, online, etc... in an effort to "beat" out the other fan base.

1 Like

@elfstar89 So he can brag about them when ratings are down, LOL. :p

This comment has been deleted

Joystickenvy

@Mikhail XO Just now watched both the finale shows and while the performance show was a total snooze fest, with only P2s coronation song being even close to a memorable moment, I enjoyed at least parts of the results show. It was a weird season for me Elise is one of my favorite contestants of all 11 season, however as a whole this season is probably second to Jordin Spark's season as my least favorite.

Veralviz

@Mikhail XO elise and jessica!!! yuhooo!

@Mikhail XO This batch of contestants did make me miss some of my prior favorites like Haley from last year.

There was very little risk taking in song choice this year. :(

That's actually higher than I thought it would be! Good for Idol!

But I guess I'll save myself trouble next year and just read Rickey audition posts so I can spot the WGWG that will win. :P

Rickey moderator

1 Like

@JeremyGable My takeaway this season is that the producers played it safe with their casting, that's why to many it was obvious that Phillip would win. But they tried their best to make it exciting given their mediocre talent pool this year. They really should take more risks next season -- but with so much money on the line, I don't think we'll see that.

@Rickey My biggest gripe is that if you know there is a distinct trend of the same type of people making it far every year, why not cast the top 24 differently?

I remember Hollywood round and there was a ton of people cut that could have gone through on their talent.

Just from a casting stand point, it makes no sense to cast similar people every single year anymore.

@Rickey True. I think that's why Idol has lasted this long, to be honest. It's not just a television show, it's a brand.

zule

1 Like

@Rickey Average age of a AI viewer this season 48. http://articles.latimes.com/2012/apr/14/entertainment/la-et-0414-idol-voice-20120414

Rickey moderator

@JeremyGable If you watched one of our Secret Shows recently, I still think the American Idol can survive a real "reboot" of ideas on how to go about things. All they need is the brand and Ryan Seacrest. Just slap the title "American Idol" and have Ryan host The Voice or The X Factor for example and it will dominate the ratings. Fans don't really care what happens, for as long as it's "American Idol" they will watch.

@Rickey Of course, who doesn't love a good trainwreck? I still play the Rachel Crow meltdown at least once a week!

What is ironic about Idol (and The Voice too, really) is that these young contestants sing songs that are like 50 years old. Other young people can't connect with that when their favorite artists these days are the likes of Rihanna, Katy Perry, and Lady Gaga.

Rickey moderator

2 Like

@JeremyGable Fixed. The show lost 8 million viewers from last year's finale.

But yes, the young viewers abandoned the show, which ironic considering how young the talent pool was this year. The demo however was strong with The Voice, powered of course by Adam Levine and Blake Shelton.

Looks like the gamble with Demi and Britney will pay off in the ratings -- but with regards to show quality, it depends. If you like trainwreck, then it will be perfect.

Rickey moderator

1 Like

@JeremyGable I have to fix this... it was 29 million last year.

@Rickey Well, I hope it works out for them. Funny enough, the viewers didn't drop that dramatically this year. Just a few million. It was the younger crowd that abandoned ship. Pretty soon Idol is going to skew DWTS type old.

It'll be interesting if Britney and Demi really do bring in the young demo for X-Factor or if young people are just over singing shows in general.

Rickey moderator

@JeremyGable But that's my point -- playing it safe. They are sticking to casting the works, the type of singers that the loyal fans love. Too many millions to be risking everything on someone they know their viewers won't watch. Again, it's not about selling records -- it's about TV ratings.