Duck Dynasty delivered American Idol some more bad news a little more than a month after eclipsing the reality competition in social media hits .
According to Entertainment Weekly , the Robertson family has beaten out the singing competition in head-to-head ratings.
EW further noted that the competition wasn’t even close with the duck-men racking up 9.6 million viewers and a 4.3 adults 18 to 49 share against American Idol ‘s comparatively puny 3.3. Duck Dynasty also beat out a one-time ratings champ in Survivor , which captured just a 2.9.
(Looks like members of the Robertson clan have an even stronger case in holding out for more money .)
American Idol has been on the decline for quite some time. There have been occasional bright spots for the show in the wake of Simon Cowell’s absence, but nothing to recapture its former glory. With the viewer base fragmented due to series like X Factor and The Voice , Idol has found it hard to keep up with the changing tides.
Meanwhile, cable channels like A&E (the home of Duck Dynasty ), AMC, HBO, and Showtime have made life more difficult with top-tier dramas like Bates Motel , Breaking Bad , Game of Thrones , and Dexter .
Furthermore, cable cord cutting is an increasingly popular practice with an estimated 4.7 million additional American households planning to snip-snip by the end of 2013 , The New York Times reported earlier this month.
With more homes moving to set-top boxes and away from “free television,” which usually consists of ABC, NBC, CBS, and Idol ‘s FOX home, the playing field is considerably more even now than it was as recently as a year ago.
Then again, the phrase “cord swapping” may more accurately depict what’s going on. Find more on that here:
Regardless of what you call it, A&E beating up on what was once network TV’s most successful program is a sign that the dynamic is changing.
Do you prefer Duck Dynasty to American Idol ? Which gets watched first, and which is fodder for the DVR?
[Image via s_bukley / Shutterstock.com ]