Following last night’s star-studded AMERICAN IDOL Season 11 finale, FOX has won its eighth straight season among Adults 18-49, breaking its previous record for the most consecutive season wins in the key adult demo in broadcast history. Averaging a 3.2/9 rating, FOX outperformed the No. 2 network (CBS) by +7%, the No. 3 network (NBC) by +28% and the No. 4 network (ABC) by +33%. In addition, FOX held relatively steady year-over-year (97% retention) among Adults 18-49 and Total Viewers, excluding last season’s Super Bowl.
With a median age of 41, FOX once again drew the youngest audience among the Big Four networks and finished the season at No. 1 among Adults 18-34 for the 10th season in a row and No. 1 among Teens for the 12th consecutive season. In addition, FOX delivered:
· The No. 1 series among Adults 18-49 and Total Viewers – AMERICAN IDOL
· The No. 1 series among Teens – AMERICAN IDOL
· The No. 1 new series among Adults 18-34 – NEW GIRL
· The No. 1 new unscripted series among Adults 18-49 – THE X FACTOR
· The No. 1 series among Young Men and Male Teens – FAMILY GUY
· The No. 1 scripted series among Young Women – NEW GIRL
· The No. 1 series among Female Teens – GLEE
· The No. 1 sports network in Households for 15 years straight
FOX also ended the season as a leader in social TV, with the Top 3 most socially engaging shows on broadcast TV (as measured by Bluefin Labs):
Top Three Broadcast Shows By Total Social Comments:
1. AMERICAN IDOL – 5.9 Mil.
2. GLEE – 4.1 Mil.
3. THE X FACTOR – 3.8 Mil.
Other key 2011-12 season highlights include:
· FOX ranked No. 1 among Adults 18-49 on four of seven nights of the week (Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday) – the most nights of any network.
· FOX ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 on every night of the week among Adults 18-34.
· FOX ranked No. 1 on Thursday among Adults 18-49 for the second season in a row – in fact, FOX won 18 consecutive Thursdays this season, matching last season’s record-breaking streak (the longest broadcast season streak since 1999).
· FOX has topped the rankings among Adults 18-49 for 10 of the past 13 quarters.
· FOX’s median age of 41 for all programming is the youngest of the four major broadcast networks – eight years younger than the second-youngest network, NBC; nine years younger than ABC; and 14 years younger than CBS – and FOX was the only network to lower its median age this season.
Preliminary broadcast network season averages through 5/24/2012 (Most Current):
Adults 18-49
FOX: 3.2/9
CBS: 3.0/8
NBC: 2.5/7
ABC: 2.4/7
Total Viewers
CBS: 11.7 million
FOX: 8.9 million
ABC: 8.4 million
NBC: 7.4 million
Preliminary May 2012 Sweep Averages (Most Current):
Adults 18-49
FOX: 2.4/7
ABC: 2.1/6
CBS: 2.0/6
NBC: 1.6/5
Total Viewers
CBS: 9.5 million
ABC: 7.8 million
FOX: 7.4 million
NBC: 5.3 million
(source: Fox)
