American Idol Trumps Olympics In Ratings
By Seraphina L.
The Winter Olympics have taken over NBC and most of people’s televisions this season. Whether they’re fans of snowboarding or figure skating, everyone is seeing how much they can watch before they have to leave the house to resume normal life. However, just because NBC has put all their regular programs on hold for the Olympics, it doesn’t mean it’s the only thing viewers are tuning into.
American Idol went head to head with the Olympics again this week, and it looks like they won in regards to ratings. Perhaps it’s the fact that the Olympics’ live broadcast can be seen on repeat during the late night hours or maybe it’s because everyone can record anything shown on TV these days.
According to Bloomberg.com (via News Corp’s Fox), American Idol pulled in 23.6 million viewers which is 16 percent more than the Olympics based on Nielsen Co. data. Both programs fell 4 percent based on their competing schedules back in 2006, but it doesn’t matter reports Brad Adgate of Horizon Media, Inc., a New York advertising agency. Adgate proclaims, “‘Idol’ is still the 800-pound gorilla,” in this situation.
So does this mean that American enjoys watching singers or “singers” more than they like watching sports? Sports are a big part of every culture, especially in the United States, but perhaps most viewers enjoy the liberal arts more so than than athletic competition. Either way, everyone is vicariously watching others in the process of gaining glory or getting knocked down. One program is just more physical and the other is more emotional.
However, what does this say about the television audience in our country? Do boys and girls in tears on the stage seem more intense to us than someone speed skating (which is a lot more dangerous)? Let us know!
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