ArchivesFOX will debut American Idol 5 on Tuesday, Jan. 17, at 8 p.m. ET, with a one-hour results show airing Wednesday at 8, TV Week reports. That keeps the show on its regular schedule, despite earlier reports (see below) that suggested the show would move to Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Earlier: FOX will announce a major scheduling change later today that sends American Idol 5 from Tuesdays and Wednesdays to Wednesdays and Thursdays, according to reports.
Media Life Magazine says “the network is expected to confirm today that it is moving” the show, “constituting one of the most significant primetime changes in recent years.”
The performance episodes “would air Wednesdays at 8 or 9 and the results show likely Thursday at 9 p.m., opposite CBS’s ‘CSI’ and NBC’s increasingly vulnerable ‘The Apprentice.’” That could, of course, knock CSI from the top of the rating charts, where it’s been sitting comfortably for some time. The results show would likely be permanently expanded to an hour.
Media Life reports that “no one would expect the same ratings from ‘Idol’ on Thursdays” because “some falloff was expected for the show’s fifth season, as happens with any aging program. Still, it will be potent enough to really hurt the other networks. NBC stands to lose the most.”
Fox’s big gamble: ‘Idol’ on Thursday [Media Life Magazine]
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