With American Idol’s ratings down well into double-digits
year-to-year this season, executive producer Nigel Lythgoe claimed not
to be surprised by the drop and even grew somewhat defensive with
journalists during a conference call this morning.
“You’re asking me how
I feel about the 11th season ratings when I originally
thought we’d be going off the air after three weeks (of season one)?” he
said. “Let’s be honest about this: We’re constantly compared against
ourselves and our own ratings. Of course you’re going to see some sort
of deterioration in the numbers.”
Lythgoe sees the reason for the
slippage as stemming from a combination of factors, chiefly the
increased competition and resultant music reality series fatigue.
