Networks are scaredy cats

Not sure how many of you saw the NY Times article this week on American Idol's ratings. If you have a NY Times account, you can read it here.

Turns out this season, Idol is incredibly averaging 33.5 million viewers their first 5 weeks this season compared to 31.7 million last year and 28.3 the season before:

For perspective, at this point “Idol” could lose half its audience and still rank among the top 10 shows on television. And no one dares predict when this phenomenon will fade.

“Idol” is creating ever more powerful shock waves. A growing number of television executives have begun to regard “American Idol” as a programming force unlike any seen before. Jeff Zucker, the new chief executive of NBC Universal, said, “I think ‘Idol’ is the most impactful show in the history of television.”

And all the other networks have given up competing against the behemoth that is Idol by moving their shows to different time slots:

The most notable recent example of a show’s being rescheduled out of danger was ABC’s decision to protect its own reality series “Dancing With the Stars” from having to compete directly with “Idol.”

“Dancing” was a runaway hit last fall, when it played for 90 minutes on Tuesdays and an hour on Wednesdays. When it returns next month, it will be seen at 8 on Mondays, a night with no episodes of “Idol,” and at 9 on Tuesdays — just as “Idol” goes off the air.

It's an interesting read. If you have the NY Times account, check it out.