'Idol' can live with softening ratings
When the producers of "American Idol" announced the addition of a
fourth judge as well as various other tweaks this season, the Fox
network cautioned that it didn't expect the moves to reverse the
ratings declines for TV's No. 1 show.
And they haven't.
Through five weeks, Season 8 of "Idol" has slipped 8% compared with last season to 26.8 million total viewers and is down 14% in the advertiser-friendly demographic adults ages 18 to 49, according to data from Nielsen Media Research.
In fact, among adults under age 50, this is the lowest-rated "Idol" (10.6 rating for the Tuesday episodes) since the first season back in summer 2002 (4.9 rating).
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-- Scott Collins
(Photo: "Bikini Girl" Katrina Darrell, 20, performs in "Hollywood." Credit: Michael Becker / Fox)
