'Idol' spins new record
'Idol' wins for Fox
Jan 21, 2004
That old "Idol" magic is back -- and so, it seems, is Fox Broadcasting Co.
Monday's third-season premiere of the talent contest "American Idol" hit all the high notes for the network, averaging a phenomenal 29 million total viewers and a 12.8 rating/31 share in the key 18-49 demographic, according to preliminary data from Nielsen Media Research (final figures will be released today). Dominating its 8 p.m. slot, "Idol" had the highest-rated debut of any series on television, new or returning, so far this season.
"Idol's" coattails stretched all the way to 9:08 p.m. for the premiere of the reality comedy "My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance." Borrowing a familiar "supersizing" trick from NBC, Fox schedulers tailored the late start to maximize sampling for "Fiance," which delivered accordingly (9.1/20, 19.6 million viewers). The numbers for "Fiance" did slide for the program's final half-hour, though some of the erosion may be because of the fact that the last eight minutes of "Idol" were initially included in the preliminary results for "Fiance's" first half-hour.
"Idol's" big debut was a salvation for Fox, which -- except for postseason baseball and the reality sleeper "The Simple Life" -- had faced an enormously disappointing season to date. The premiere also proved that "Idol" is a bona fide reality franchise that could help bolster the schedule for many seasons, a la CBS' "Survivor," NBC's "Fear Factor" and ABC's "The Bachelor."
Before the premiere, some TV veterans buzzed that "Idol" might lose steam this time around, a prospect that seemed at least plausible after Fox's "The Next Joe Millionaire" -- a sequel to last year's huge reality hit -- posted much lower-than-expected ratings in the fall.
Fortunately for Fox, such fears never materialized. The third "Idol" bow actually outperformed the second-season premiere, on Jan. 21, 2003 (12.4/30).
"The idea that this show has opened bigger than its premiere last year is stunning to us," Fox entertainment president Gail Berman said. "We had good (anecdotal) evidence that there was just so much interest in this program, but obviously we could have never predicted this response."
Berman said the network brass were particularly impressed that the show opened so well on a Monday outside of the series' regular Tuesday-Wednesday berths. (Fox originally planned a two-hour "Idol" premiere Tuesday but broke the program into two one-hour segments for Monday and Tuesday to accommodate President Bush's State of the Union address Tuesday night.)
Berman also credited "Idol" for helping get "Fiance" off to a fast start. It didn't hurt that both shows had a ton of promotion during Fox's Sunday coverage of the NFL's NFC Championship Game.
Given "Idol's" strength, rivals could do little except get out of the way. "Idol" took a particularly heavy toll on the first hour of a special two-hour "couples edition" of the peacock's "Fear Factor," which for that hour hit the lowest rating (4.8/12) of any original "Factor" this season (the previous mark of 5.0/13 was set Oct. 13).
"Factor" rebounded strongly once "Idol" ended -- to a 6.2/14 for the second hour -- yet still managed only a distant second to "Fiance." On the bright side for NBC, the 10 p.m. reality romance "Average Joe Hawaii" hit its highest ratings so far this season (5.6/13).
CBS essentially sat out the night with repeats of its regular lineup, while ABC aired a low-rated movie, "Meet the Parents" (2.1/5), plus the 10 p.m. special "In Style: Celebrity Weddings" (2.4/6).
Predictably, Fox overwhelmed the nightly averages in the demo (11.2/26), followed by NBC (5.6/13), CBS (4.3/10) and ABC (2.2/5). Fox also commanded in total viewers (24.8 million), followed by CBS (12.8 million), NBC (12.6 million) and ABC (6.7 million).
Monday's third-season premiere of the talent contest "American Idol" hit all the high notes for the network, averaging a phenomenal 29 million total viewers and a 12.8 rating/31 share in the key 18-49 demographic, according to preliminary data from Nielsen Media Research (final figures will be released today). Dominating its 8 p.m. slot, "Idol" had the highest-rated debut of any series on television, new or returning, so far this season.
"Idol's" coattails stretched all the way to 9:08 p.m. for the premiere of the reality comedy "My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance." Borrowing a familiar "supersizing" trick from NBC, Fox schedulers tailored the late start to maximize sampling for "Fiance," which delivered accordingly (9.1/20, 19.6 million viewers). The numbers for "Fiance" did slide for the program's final half-hour, though some of the erosion may be because of the fact that the last eight minutes of "Idol" were initially included in the preliminary results for "Fiance's" first half-hour.
"Idol's" big debut was a salvation for Fox, which -- except for postseason baseball and the reality sleeper "The Simple Life" -- had faced an enormously disappointing season to date. The premiere also proved that "Idol" is a bona fide reality franchise that could help bolster the schedule for many seasons, a la CBS' "Survivor," NBC's "Fear Factor" and ABC's "The Bachelor."
Before the premiere, some TV veterans buzzed that "Idol" might lose steam this time around, a prospect that seemed at least plausible after Fox's "The Next Joe Millionaire" -- a sequel to last year's huge reality hit -- posted much lower-than-expected ratings in the fall.
Fortunately for Fox, such fears never materialized. The third "Idol" bow actually outperformed the second-season premiere, on Jan. 21, 2003 (12.4/30).
"The idea that this show has opened bigger than its premiere last year is stunning to us," Fox entertainment president Gail Berman said. "We had good (anecdotal) evidence that there was just so much interest in this program, but obviously we could have never predicted this response."
Berman said the network brass were particularly impressed that the show opened so well on a Monday outside of the series' regular Tuesday-Wednesday berths. (Fox originally planned a two-hour "Idol" premiere Tuesday but broke the program into two one-hour segments for Monday and Tuesday to accommodate President Bush's State of the Union address Tuesday night.)
Berman also credited "Idol" for helping get "Fiance" off to a fast start. It didn't hurt that both shows had a ton of promotion during Fox's Sunday coverage of the NFL's NFC Championship Game.
Given "Idol's" strength, rivals could do little except get out of the way. "Idol" took a particularly heavy toll on the first hour of a special two-hour "couples edition" of the peacock's "Fear Factor," which for that hour hit the lowest rating (4.8/12) of any original "Factor" this season (the previous mark of 5.0/13 was set Oct. 13).
"Factor" rebounded strongly once "Idol" ended -- to a 6.2/14 for the second hour -- yet still managed only a distant second to "Fiance." On the bright side for NBC, the 10 p.m. reality romance "Average Joe Hawaii" hit its highest ratings so far this season (5.6/13).
CBS essentially sat out the night with repeats of its regular lineup, while ABC aired a low-rated movie, "Meet the Parents" (2.1/5), plus the 10 p.m. special "In Style: Celebrity Weddings" (2.4/6).
Predictably, Fox overwhelmed the nightly averages in the demo (11.2/26), followed by NBC (5.6/13), CBS (4.3/10) and ABC (2.2/5). Fox also commanded in total viewers (24.8 million), followed by CBS (12.8 million), NBC (12.6 million) and ABC (6.7 million).
Share on LinkedIn
