American Idol’s audience recently dipped below that of DANCING WITH THE STARS for the first time in the rivalry’s history.
Television writer David Bauder’s Associated Press story on the ratings surprise on April 6 plugs the analysis of Don Seaman, a communications analyst for MPG America who says that the presence of Kate Gosselin has boosted the ratings of DANCING WITH THE STARS, but MOVIEGUIDE® notes that DANCING opened with 22.5 million viewers in March 2009 and won last week’s competition with 23 million, not a major jump. On the other hand AMERICAN IDOL’s Wednesday numbers of 20.5 million are only slightly over half of their peak numbers of 37.7 million in 2007. Even last year IDOL hit 30.4 million, so the real news is not the stunning success of DANCING WITH THE STARS but rather the plummeting ratings of AMERICAN IDOL. While there is talk of a weak field of contestants, the big change this year was Ellen Degeneres replacing Paula Abdul.
The Associated Press story says, “The networks theorize the April Fools’ doomsday could be explained by religious holidays for Christians and Jews, along with the onset of good weather after a dreary stretch on the East Coast.”
What the secular media pundits fail to note is that Fox’s decision to hire Degeneres, a lesbian activist, has obviously contributed to the current reduced ratings.
– David Outten, Production Editor.
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