Seems like it's working, although broadcast TV continues to see it's ratings decline. Idol may not be escaping from the slide, but it still overwhelmingly beats all of the competition combined:
American Idol's eighth season debuts huge, but ratings dip again
Tuesday night's premiere of American Idol's eighth season was the highest-rated telecast of the 2008-2009 television season, however the show's season premiere ratings still dipped for the second consecutive year.American Idol's two-hour premiere averaged 30.1 million total viewers and scored an 11.6/28 rating/share in the Adults 18-49 demographic and a 9.7/26 rating/share among Adults 18-34, according to Nielsen Media Research preliminary fast national ratings figures -- a performance that easily makes it the highest-rated entertainment telecast of the 2008-2009 television season.
Former American Idol contestant and Oscar winning actress, Jennifer Hudson will return to the spotlight when she sings the national anthem at the Super Bowl. This will be her first public appearance since the shooting deaths of her mother, brother and nephew.
In October, Jennifer Hudson’s 57-year-old mother, Darnell Donerson, and the singer’s 29-year-old brother, Jason, were shot to death in her mother’s home in Chicago. Jennifer Hudson’s 7-year-old nephew, Julian King, was found shot a few days later, in Jennifer Hudson’s sister’s (Julia), missing SUV. Jennifer Hudson’s estranged brother-in-law, William Balfour has been charged with the shooting murders of her family.
Jennifer Hudson will open the NBC broadcast of the National Football League championship on February 1, in Tampa Bay, Florida.
Jennifer Hudson is scheduled to also sing at the 2009 MusiCares Person of the Year show just weeks before she will perform at the 51st annual Grammy Awards on February 8. Jennifer Hudson is nominated for best R&B album for her self-titled debut album.
Jan 15, 2009 16:20 EST
The second night of "American Idol" delivered an unexpected gift to Fox: a bigger audience.
An estimated 30.5 million people tuned in Wednesday to television's most popular program, up from the 30.3 million the night before for the eighth season opener.
Nielsen Media Research said it's the first time in five years that the audience increased from the first night to the second, a development Fox attributes to good word of mouth about the first night.
"We're thrilled," Mike Darnell, chief of alternative programming at Fox, said.
------------------------------------------------------- Or, it might be that people had other things going the first night, or didn't realize the season had started that first night.
I think by focusing on the good instead of the weird, they may see their numbers increase even more.