The Future of American Idol

While American Idol is still going strong, lackluster ratings, compared to previous years, competing music shows, and sweeping changes threaten to unhinge the success of the once unbeatable program. However, while American Idol remains competitive, producers are looking into ways to make it more palatable to a culture that continues to march, with or without American Idol.

Going into its tenth season, American Idol seemed to be in a huge crisis. The big changes that are occurring in American Idol are mostly concerned with the low ratings and the inability to rely on the celebrity that Simon Cowell brought to the table. It seems as if every piece of American Idol is being changed in order to rest the show on the “story of winning or losing.” The changes range from online voting, to an updated set, and even faster music releases in order to keep audiences involved and participating in the show.

In addition, the voting may go through a fundamental change. Up until this point, an unlimited number of votes have been accepted. The producers, including Ken Warwick, are considering a change to the voting system. Limiting the number of Text Message votes, along with internet ballots, in order to have a fairer way of judging the winner.

Fortunately, American Idol,which brings in around 800 million annually, has only lost about three million viewers. This keeps the ratings at an average of 26 million viewers an episode. This is why we can expect American Idol to continue, even when it’s two most popular stars, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell, have left. Additionally, American Idol is able to bring in a larger financial windfall than the competitors because of their strong ratings in prized demographics. This means that American Idol is likely to stick around, even if its numbers continue to fall a little more.

Lastly, one should keep an eye on American Idol for the purposes of Media Convergence. With Reality Television becoming so popular, American Idol built its success on converging both Television and traditional mediums of communications, like the telephone. This continued into the second season with Text Messaging and has brought the internet into the mix as well. By allowing audiences to vote, and view extra online material, American Idol may end up being a driving force behind convergence. How easy would it be to vote if you had an Television with Internet? While American Idol is only beginning to utilize the internet, if it is successful we can be sure that it will be used on other shows, such as X-Factor.

The future of American Idol really depend on if you believe that the aging American Idol viewer will continue to stop watching, which means an older age demographic and fewer viewers, or if you are convinced that the program can bring back the magic that once caught the United States off-guard. Either option seems possible at this point, and many Fox executives believe that it will continue strong. However, it is undeniable that American Idol has had a rich history and will leave its stamp on Television for a long time to come.