'Idol' Audience Slips to Start Season Eight on Fox
"American Idol," the most-watched show on U.S. television, attracted 10 percent fewer viewers in the opening of its eighth season on News Corp.'s Fox network, ratings data show.
The twice-a-week singing contest won its time slot with 30.1 million viewers and a 15.8 rating over two hours last night, according to Nielsen Co. data supplied by competitors today. Fox had more than triple the rating of its nearest rival CBS Corp. in the 18-to-49 age group advertisers target.
The show has given Fox the biggest audience in that segment the past four seasons and last year propelled the network to an overall ratings win. CBS, hobbled by the writers strike in 2008, could reclaim that title this year. Last season, "Idol" produced about $750 million in 2008 revenue for News Corp. according to UBS AG analyst Michael Morris.
"It's still a powerhouse, even with ratings 5 or 10 percent lower," Aaron Cohen, an advertising buyer at New York- based Horizon Media Inc., said in an interview before the results were released.
Respond: Did you watch this season's start of "American Idol?"
The twice-a-week singing contest won its time slot with 30.1 million viewers and a 15.8 rating over two hours last night, according to Nielsen Co. data supplied by competitors today. Fox had more than triple the rating of its nearest rival CBS Corp. in the 18-to-49 age group advertisers target.
The show has given Fox the biggest audience in that segment the past four seasons and last year propelled the network to an overall ratings win. CBS, hobbled by the writers strike in 2008, could reclaim that title this year. Last season, "Idol" produced about $750 million in 2008 revenue for News Corp. according to UBS AG analyst Michael Morris.
"It's still a powerhouse, even with ratings 5 or 10 percent lower," Aaron Cohen, an advertising buyer at New York- based Horizon Media Inc., said in an interview before the results were released.
Respond: Did you watch this season's start of "American Idol?"
Well that makes me not wa...