ratings (148 posts)
The Voice vs. American Idol: This Is War
In recent years, the carping about American Idol's ratings, or, rather, American Idol's declining ratings, has been pointless: In the end, it's always No. 1.
Make that, it was always No. 1.
For the first time since before Carrie Underwood outdueled Bo Bice, if you can remember back that long, Idol's been beat—and The Voice did it.
Whitney Houston's Last Big Hit? The Grammys
Whitney Houston's voice lives.
Sunday's Grammys, held in the wake of the legendary singer's sudden death the day before, was watched—and heard—by more people than any Grammys of the last 25-plus years, TV ratings showed.
It was the second-most watched Grammys on record. And it might have been one of the most well-regarded, too.
The River Premiere Was No Smash—or the 200th Episode of NCIS, Either
Sometimes you're lucky, and you premiere on a killer night for your Super Bowl-boosted network.
Sometimes you're unlucky, and you premiere on a night that's just a killer.
A look at why The River was no Smash:
UPDATE!
The Voice: Season Off to Smashing Start—but What About Smash?
The Voice was the safe bet to rule Monday-night TV.
Smash was the wild card.
In the end, both shows paid off.
UPDATE!
The Real Super Bowl Score: Record-Size Audience or Not?
A down-to-the-wire game. Two storied teams with two star quarterbacks. A little Madonna, a little Ferris Bueller.
The ingredients were all there for Sunday's Super Bowl to set a TV-ratings record for the third straight year.
The questions was: Did the game get there—and did it bring The Voice along with it?
Midseason Watch: Which New Shows Are Looking Good? Which Ones Aren't?
Is Keifer Sutherland back? Is Alcatraz for real? Does Josh Lucas have any future with The Firm?
One month into the launches of primetime's winter wave, here's where the key new shows stand:
Did Kiefer Sutherland's New Touch Have It? What About Marg Helgenberger's Last CSI?
It had American Idol for a lead-in. It had Kiefer Sutherland, in his first series, post-24, for a star. It even had Modern Family more or less on the sidelines.
Touch couldn't miss in the TV ratings.
Er, right?
Is The Bachelor Growing on You?
Things didn't start out well for Ben Flajnik, and not just because he was greeted with a cheesy (bacon-y?) come-on.
The Bachelor's 16th season launched to franchise-low ratings.
But things are looking up for Flajnik, and not just because he got to enjoy the wonder that is bikini-skiing.
American Idol's Ratings Plunge: Is the Show Over—or Totally Not?
At first glance, the numbers look bad: American Idol's season premiere was down nearly 5 million viewers from last year's, the biggest season-to-season drop in franchise history.
At second glance, the numbers don't look bad at all: AI was Wednesday's dominant show, averaging 21.6 million, per estimates, and scoring a still-huge, if diminished, 7.4 demo rating among 18-to-49-year-olds.
So, which is it? Is Idol over—or not?
UPDATE!
Alcatraz Is No Betty White—It's Better?!
Alcatraz might've faced its toughest opponent last night: critics Betty White.
Here's the ratings breakdown on the premiere of J.J. Abrams buzzed-about new series:







