The second night of the American Idol season premiere last night drew a 3.8 in adults 18-49. That is down 32% from the Thursday premiere last year, a steeper decline than the 22% drop for the show’s Wednesday debut. Idol was helped by lesser competition from CBS, whose lineup, led by juggernaut The Big Bang Theory, was in repeats.
The ratings momentum for NBC’s anemic Thursday comedy block was short-lived. After posting gains last week, all comedies retreated last night against Idol despite facing comedy reruns on CBS. Community (1.1) was down 21%, Parks & Recreation (1.2) was down 20%, and Sean Saves The World (0.8) was down 20% to tie a series low. The Michael J Fox Show (0.6) fared the worst, plunging 40% despite getting a promo push at the Golden Globes. A series rarely lives to see another airing after posting such rating (see ABC’s The Assets last week), though NBC had stressed its commitment to the show, which has finished production on its 22-episode order, and doesn’t have many alternatives for the slot. At 10 PM, Parenthood (1.2) was down 8% from last week to tie a series low.
On ABC, two-hour The Taste (0.9) was hit hard by Idol, down 31% from last week to a series low. Despite that, a Shark Tank repeat at 10 PM (1.2) doubled the delivery of Assets last Thursday.
Why can’t the Critic’s Choice Movie Awards get a bigger audience? The ceremony brings out A-list talent who let loose (Sandra Bullock, Bradley Cooper Drop F-Bombs On Live Critics’ Choice Movie Awards Show). Yet, last night’s telecast on the CW drew a paltry 0.4 in 18-49, down 33% from last year. It did better in total viewers (1.96 million), up 4% from last year, and was flat in the CW’s core demo of 18-34s (0.4).
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