A Quarter of Adults Less Likely to Watch “American Idol” Next Season

“American Idol” producers announced last week that actress and singer Jennifer Lopez and Aerosmith front man Steven Tyler are the new judges on the popular reality show. Though the show doesn’t return until 2011, a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 25% of Adults already say they are less likely to watch next season because of the new judges.

Only nine percent (9%) say they are more likely to watch “American Idol” now that Lopez and Tyler are in the judges seats. Most Americans (61%) say they are just as likely to watch the show as they were before.

Overall, 11% of adults nationwide tune in to “Idol” every week, while another seven percent (7%) watch it almost every week. Sixteen percent (16%) watch the talent show occasionally, while most (62%) rarely or never tune in. To see survey question wording, click here.

Though women are more likely than men to watch the show weekly, men are a bit more likely to tune in next season to watch the new judges.

Most adults who watch “American Idol” at least occasionally (54%) agree that the show is getting worse as the years go by. Only 21% think it’s getting better, while 25% aren’t sure. That’s a drastic change from a year ago when 30% of "’Idol” watchers felt that the show was worsening, but 25% thought the show was getting better. 

Slightly more men than women think the show is improving. Younger adults tend to agree the show is getting better as time goes by compared to their elders.

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The survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on September 23-24, 2010 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Before the season finale last year, a separate survey found that most (54%) “American Idol” watchers consider the judging on the show as fair and honest. Twenty percent (20%) did not.

Randy Jackson is the only judge left out of the three original judges from the show’s first season. A survey conducted in mid-February found that (87%) rated Randy Jackson favorably.  Simon Cowell did not extend his contract. Recent judges Ellen DeGeneres and Kara DioGuardi both quit earlier this year.

On a separate note, Kara’s father, Joe DioGuardi, is running against Kirsten Gillibrand in the race for New York Senate.

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