American Idol Vs FOX’s Other Shows

Another season of American Idol is upon us. A ratings juggernaut that tends to leave havoc in its wake. Often, this havoc is mentioned in regards to what other networks have to do in order to lessen any damage that Idol will cause. I can’t help but wonder if Idol actually does more damage to all of the other shows on the FOX network.

We see it every season: shows on the FOX schedule are shuffled around mercilessly so that Idol‘s broad shoulders can be accomodated. Shows that have managed to not only survive the fall baseball pre-emptions but find an audience on certain days and times often find themselves up-rooted to another day and/or another time. Also, shows that could benefit from a schedule change find that they get less than optimum placements because of the demands of Idol.

When you figure that FOX only programs 2-hours of programs on weeknights, that doesn’t leave a lot of room for shows to attract an audience away from the other network and cable competition. With those shows also living with uncertainty every year for what spring will bring, you wonder if FOX’s ratings wins with Idol actually cost it more in the long run. Because of audience losses because they can’t find their formerly-viewed show, or if it’s against a significant competitor for the same demographic, FOX shows often find themselves stuggling a bit with ratings. As a result, shows get cancelled more because of Idol scheduling than because of fair competition. These cancellations end up costing in lost syndication, retail sales, and foreign licenses.

In the name of full disclosure, I’m not an Idol fan. I am a fan of other FOX shows, and I hate what Idol hands do with them year after year.