Idol’s time slot: LR Daughter has a point
Steve Safran April 1st, 2007
When we published LR Daughter’s open letter to Fox, it was suggested by some that this fifth grader did not have a proper understanding of Nielsen ratings. (Imagine!) Recap: LR Daughter was protesting that Fox puts the American Idol results show on Wednesdays at 9pm, too late for her to watch live. She further protested that it is after Bones, a drama too gruesome for kids. Idol is at 8pm on Tuesdays, when she and her friends watch and vote relentlessly online. So I decided to go back and check out the numbers from the February book to find out if Fox executives are Smarter Than A Fifth Grader:
Tuesdays: 8 pm Idol - 17.3 rating and 26 share. 9 pm House - 15.2 rating, 22 share.
Wednesdays: 8 pm Bones - 7.9 rating, 12 share. 9 pm Idol - 17 rating, 26 share.
Look at that. When Fox has a drama after Idol, the two do better. House essentially holds most of the lead-in audience. When Fox has a drama before Idol, it doesn’t do as well and Idol does a slightly lower number - even though it’s the more suspenseful results show. Now before you cry “LR Daughter still doesn’t understand demographics!”: Bones does a 4.5/12 in Adults 18-49, putting it 21st overall. Idol is #1 on Tuesday and #2 on Wednesday in the same demo, and House is #4. Also of note to our new key demo: the two nights of Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader were the 4th and 5th top specials of the month. Let the network bidding for LR Daughter’s consulting begin.
6 Comments Add your own
1. Tim | April 1st, 2007 at 6:16 pm
What _does_ LR Daughter watch on Thusday at 8? Survivor Fiji might seem possible, being like Idol in a way, but there’s also Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader which should appeal to someone not allowed to stay up until 10, there’s Ugly Betty which might be a good show to help with self-esteem issues. NBC has The Office which probably isn’t her type of show.
The point? That some of these other shows might draw audience from Idol even if it were on at 8; although I myself, think she’s probably right.
2. Steve | April 1st, 2007 at 6:44 pm
Has Fox ever run House before Idol? I don’t think Bones will ever be as good regardless of what kind of lead in it gets.
3. Anonymous | April 1st, 2007 at 6:57 pm
LR Father doesn’t understand the Julian calendar. Idol is on Tuesday, results are on Wednesday. LR Father also doesn’t understand counter-programming. Bones would do even more poorly at 9pm, because it would be on against Criminal Minds and Crossing Jordan, all competing for the same viewers. Plus, it would not have a direct lead-in from Idol, which ends at 8:30.
4. Steve Safran | April 2nd, 2007 at 4:50 am
Anonymous is correct vis a vis the days. LR Father was going by the Lunar Calendar, which believes the day starts at the previous evening’s moon rise. (I have made the correction.)
LR Daughter is still learning counterprogramming, which doesn’t start until sixth grade.
5. Rocker | April 2nd, 2007 at 6:53 am
I think I’m losing my mind. I have no idea what you guys are talking about….”LR Daughter” and “LR Father”? My advice though would be to listen to the kid… if any of the networks could have hired me back in the early ’70’s when I was around 10 years old, they would have skyrocketed to #1…if I liked it, it was a hit…that simple. For a few years there, I was in a programming zone… kind of like the monkey in that Kurt Russell/Disney movie that was put in charge of programming for a network… GREAT movie, btw!
6. Cory | April 2nd, 2007 at 2:23 pm
And don’t forget about the Fox affiliates, who would LOOOOVE to have Idol at 9 p.m. to boost their newscasts.
(I used to work at one..)
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