David Kronke was appointed Mayor of Television after a bloodless coup in 2000. Since then, he has improved infrastructure, championed greater educational opportunities and fought for reforms that have utterly erased corruption and incompetence from the television industry. Since Mr. Kronke has ascended to power, Television is a far better place. Is “American Idol” losing it?
Well, no, not really. Sorry to get your hopes up. I mean, Paula Abdul may be, but the show, it is what it is. Still.
But the show drew only 33.2 million viewers, its lowest debut in four years, and so entertainment journalists, understandably looking for any remotely interesting story during the writers strike, have opted to focus on the relatively small ratings decline.
True, the show dropped 4.2 million viewers from its premiere last season and dropped 13% in the all-important 18-49 demographic. But networks generally hope for something less than a 20% drop from a series’ premiere episode to its next, so a 13% skid in a year is hardly worrisome from Fox’s standpoint. And, even if “AI” were to lose 4.2 million viewers every season, it’d still remain a viable show for at least five more years (and, depending on how low ratings will be for the broadcast networks at that point, probably longer).
Consensus seems to be that Simon and the others were nicer than usual, and there weren’t as many aspiring contestants in need of haloperidol. Of course, how the show fares as the season progresses depends on who makes it to the dirty dozen; the show slipped in the ratings last year when the nation shrugged as one at the finalists.
So, though you may deplore the Juggernaut That Eats Up And Spits Out Your Favorite TV Shows, consider this a public service: As much as you may want “AI” gone, your heart could be broken if you believe the “Idol’s slipping” hype, and we don’t want that.