American Idol - Episode 3 | Guy DAlema/ABC
Preliminary ratings for Sunday’s “American Idol” have emerged, and they are consistent with expectations.
The episode was down from last Sunday’s premiere but roughly on par with this past Monday’s episode.
According to fast national data posted by Showbuzz, the third “American Idol” broadcast drew a 1.7 adults 18-49 rating and averaged 7.66 million overall viewers in the 8PM hour. Its numbers improved to 1.8 and 7.82 million in the 9PM hour.
Last Sunday’s premiere drew a 2.3 rating and 10.48 million viewers. The Monday follow-up drew a 1.8 and 8.41 million.
Granted, there is some downside to the stability with Monday’s airing. Unlike the Sunday episodes, the Monday “American Idol” airings will go head-to-head with fellow music competition series “The Voice.” With less direct competition, it is not unreasonable to expect the Sunday airings to outperform the Monday broadcasts.
That question mark (and acceptance that ABC’s version of “Idol” will not restore the franchise to its ratings heyday) aside, Sunday’s airing was still strong from a competitive standpoint. Among adults 18-49, “Idol” ranked as network television’s #1 program in the 8-10PM timeslot.
It was network’s #2 program for the entire night (the 7-7:30PM portion of CBS’ NCAA Men’s Basketball coverage drew a far stronger number).