American Idol Premiere | Eric Liebowitz/ABC
The premiere of ABC’s “American Idol” relaunch drew modest ratings by “Idol” standards but solid ones in the context of the general TV landscape.
According to fast national data posted by Showbuzz, the episode drew a 2.1 adults 18-49 rating and averaged 9.99 million viewers in the 8PM hour.
Those numbers improved to a 2.4 and 10.66 million at 9PM.
“Idol” easily ranked as Sunday’s #1 network program in both columns.
The premiere numbers do, however, trail the 3.0 rating and 10.96 million viewers drawn by the previous “Idol” season premiere. Airing on January 6, 2016, that episode kickstarted the show’s fifteenth and final season on FOX.
The numbers are also below those drawn by the February 28 season premiere of “The Voice” (2.8, 12.31 million).
Those unfavorable comparisons notwithstanding, the numbers are obviously still solid for the current TV landscape. And given the hype surrounding the premiere, a “solid” performance was inevitable.
The bigger question concerns whether “Idol” can hold up in the weeks ahead. It will be particularly interesting to see how “Idol” fares Monday night, when it goes head-to-head with “The Voice.”
— Sunday’s “Idol” premiere led into the debut of “Deception,” which drew a 1.3 rating and 6.10 million viewers. While the lead-in retention is not fantastic, the numbers are still solid for a 10PM drama.