American Idol fans had been awaiting this new season with as much patience as they could garner and it seems that their waiting has brought them much good. The premiere episode was aired on Tuesday with a second airing on Wednesday. The New York Times has the numbers, including data for other TV shows:
Day 2 of Fox’s “American Idol” earned almost as many viewers on Wednesday as did Tuesday’s premiere episode, averaging 29.9 million from 8 to 10 p.m., according to Nielsen’s estimates. Although down from recent seasons, and with an audience about 500,000 viewers smaller than this season’s debut, the singing competition remained television’s top-rated show, earning 7 million more viewers Wednesday than its network competitors CBS, NBC, ABC and CW combined. CBS was runner-up for the night, thanks largely to “Criminal Minds” at 9 (14.1 million) and “CSI: NY” at 10 (12.8 million). CBS’s back-to-back comedies, “The New Adventures of Old Christine” (7.3 million) and “Gary Unmarried” (7.1 million), earned fewer viewers but still outpaced their competitors to win the 8 p.m. hour.
That’s a whole bunch of other TV shows in there, in case you’re interested which ones are hot these days. Anyhow, going back to the new season of American Idol…I would have to say that the show in itself really attracts so many viewers so there is no surprise as to the ratings. Another possible reason for the number of viewers is the addition of a new judge, which is sure to change the dynamics of the show. More of her in the next post.