American Idol Ratings Plummet

“American Idol” is still a ratings giant but it isn’t what it used to be. The popular talent show saw a big ratings downfall during the second episode of this year’s edition.

According to the NY Times, the second show’s ratings fell 27% compared to the same show last year. Compared to two years ago, American Idol’s ratings are down 44%.

“American Idol” has been the reigning champ of the 8:00 to 8:30 p.m. time slot but this Thursday it was almost beat by CBS comedy “The Big Bang Theory.” Both shows had a rating of 5.2 during Thursday night’s episode.

In terms of total viewers, “American Idol” brought in around 18 million viewers on Thursday. Last year, however, that number was close to 23 million.

Are you still watching “American Idol?”

Here are some of the most watched videos from this season.

Heejun Han

Hallie Day

Brittany Kerr

In case you recognized, or want to know more about, Brittany Kerr, she’s a cheerleader for the Charlotte Bobcats.

“American Idol” is still a hit but it doesn’t pull the weight that it used to. “Idol” has been a great lead in for Fox to promote new shows in the 9 p.m. slot, but that isn’t necessarily true anymore. According to the Telegraph, Idol was at the top at 8 p.m., was tied with “The Big Bang Theory” at 8:30 and was in last place by the time the show ended at 9.

Do you still watch “American Idol?”