'American Idol' median viewer age hits 40

Oh, no! Is "American Idol" getting ... middle-aged?

Fox's singing competition returned for its eighth season Tuesday with a total audience of 30.4 million viewers, or a 9% decline compared with last year's launch, according to Nielsen Media Research.

But a more arresting detail is buried within the numbers. Tuesday's audience was the oldest ever for an "Idol" season opener, with a median age of 40.3 years. That's quite a bit older than the "Idol" contestants, who are all in their teens or 20s.

"Idol" has been "aging up," as they say in the TV business, every year. The series premiere, back in June 2002, had a median viewer age of 29.5. By the Season 4 opener, in January 2005, the median viewer was 35. Last year, the figure had crept up to 38.2.

This matters because young people tend to drive entertainment trends and fads in this country, and if they're exiting a show such as "Idol," the show may finally be beginning to lose its grip on pop culture. Also, the age question presents a thorny issue for the show's producers, with the generational disconnect between the performers and the audience already evident. Last year, teenager David Archuleta and other contestants admitted to sketchy familiarity with some songs that are baby boomer touchstones, including those of an obscure British band called the Beatles.

All this may help explain the producers' decision this season to hire a fourth judge, Kara DioGuardi, who happens to be the youngest of the panel at age 38. Luckily for "Idol," its median viewer is still younger than Paula Abdul (46), Simon Cowell (49) or Randy Jackson (52).

-- Scott Collins

(Photo courtesy AP)

Comments

[CS]

Not surprising at all. Last season, Simon Cowell made it very clear, multiple times, that "teens and grannies" are the two most despicable demographics. Now they have the forty-year-olds that voted for Cook. Good luck with Season 8.

[jenuses]

I think that this seasson will be good now that there are four judges!!!! people will get a better chance and simon like's the new judge!!!! If she say's yes to someone he say's yes if she dont like someone he dont!!!!

[Starbuster]

I think Idol needs a show for singers from age 35-80. They only take people up to a certain age - which is absurd...

They are missing out on a huge chunk of great singers! Granted - the young ones are "eye candy" - but there are a lot of nice looking "older people" - and darn good singers....

[OJ]

It stands to reason that the people who first watched Idol back in 2002 are still watching. The median viewer age back then was 29.5 - now 7 years later the median, at least for the first episodes, is 40.3. The same people who watched in 2002 now have a median age of 36.5. It will be interesting to see how this statistic varies over the course of the season. I predict it will skew younger when the producers bring in the bands and solo artists. It will skew older when the show brings back theme nights like Dolly Parton and Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber.

I love Dolly and the Beattles and don't want to see them go. I guess I'm just not that alarmed by the aging statistic after two episodes. 30 million is a pretty big number.

[arli]

I think they should have people in their 30s and 40s on the show singing...because they're probably better with the rock music than these kids.

[Capri]

The show is getting too dated and predictable. It's absurd that teens are forced to sing old songs from their grandparents generation EVERY WEEK! Please go back to UK to annoy and manipulate your own people already! Enough is enough.

[Amber]

I'm far from being 40, but an older audience watching American Idol... because there isn't much worth watching anymore! Just because it's watched doesn't mean it's being enjoyed.