Paula Abdul

From today’s b, the paper:

The buzzards circled “American Idol” last week — competitors and critics lured by lowered ratings, juicy news of viewer surveys and another of Paula Abdul’s gaffes.

But if it seems as though the producers are feeling more pressure than the four finalists, remember: “Idol” ain’t dead yet.

“The rumors of its fall are comically overblown right now,” says Ben Grossman, the Los Angeles bureau chief for Broadcasting & Cable magazine. It was his story last Monday about the viewer opinion surveys — coupled with Abdul critiquing Jason Castro on a song he hadn’t yet performed — that sparked rumors of major changes in the offing.

“Every single network would kill to have a new show on that does half the numbers ‘Idol’ has.”

The No. 1 and No. 2 show on television is showing signs of age and of the continued fragmentation of the medium, with viewers defecting to cable, TiVo and the Web. But the show is not alone in its troubles — and it’s highly unlikely that producers will dump host Ryan Seacrest or judges Randy Jackson, Simon Cowell or Abdul.

Last week, the Wednesday results show eliminating Brooke White drew 22.1 million viewers — down from 23.3 million the week before, and way down from the 29 million viewers the show averaged last season. It was the lowest ratings “Idol” has earned since its second season. But “Idol” execs worked to put the numbers in a more forgiving context.

“We’re still 7 million viewers ahead of the second-biggest show,” said “Idol” Executive Producer Cecile Frot-Coutaz. “And let’s face it. TV has taken a huge decline this year. All the networks are down by quite a bit. I think the writers’ strike really hurt. A lot of viewers haven’t come back.”

Spin aside, shows do typically suffer a ratings decline by season seven. Grossman notes that broadcast TV programs in general — including such hits as “Grey’s Anatomy,” “CSI” and “Lost” — are down.

“You can count on one hand the number of shows in their seventh season that are doing better than they did in their first year,” he said. “They have a bunch of kids over the last few weeks singing old people’s songs [that would be the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Neil Diamond theme nights] and they’re getting 22 to 25 million people.”

“Idol” producers are turning to surveys to determine what viewers want — but that’s been the case for the past three years, and the technique isn’t unique to “Idol,” Grossman reported last week; current questions address “Idol’s” audition phases, between-judge banter and the appropriate amount of Seacrest.

The survey may lead to tweaking, but producers have disavowed even considering the cast lineup.

Talking to the Hollywood Reporter last week, Frot-Coutaz said, “We are constantly looking at the show with an eye towards improving the viewing experience. However, after seven seasons on air as the most popular show on television, one thing is certain: Randy, Paula and Simon are, and will be, our judges, and Ryan is, and will be, our host.”

Speculation over judging changes reached a peak last week when Abdul critiqued a Castro song he had not even performed; she said she was looking at notes for another contestant, that she was confused by a late format change and that her notes pertained to a rehearsal performance.

Message boards showed viewers furious over the incident. John Rich, of the country group Big & Rich and NBC show “Nashville Star,” chimed in to the outrage. “American Idol infuriates me as an artist,” he said. “They’re being fake about it. … [Abdul] wasn’t even paying attention to what was going on.”

Frot-Coutaz found the positive in the incident when she discussed it with the Associated Press.

“I love that everyone was talking about it,” she said. “It was so unexpected. It was something that took up 2 seconds of airtime. You’d think there was no other news on television.”

Again, that’s a very sunny way to look at things. But unpredictability is clearly part of Abdul’s appeal. And as some viewers cried foul or called for Abdul’s head, just as many came to defend her.

“Paula is a little quirky but her unique personality adds a lot to the show and it’s always fun to see what she will wear and how she does her hair. Keep Paula…She’s too much fun to get rid of!” commented “Pat” on the Los Angeles Times’ “Dish Rag” blog — fairly typical of the positive comments.

Clearly, “Idol” producers are looking at fixes, but they’re likely to be incremental until “Idol” faces serious competition. Even with a ratings slip, it’s still the dragonslayer of network television.

“It’s like the New York Yankees,” Grossman says. “People love to hate ‘Idol’ at the other networks because it kills them two nights of the week.”

Anne Tallent is editor of b. Email her at anne@bthesite.com. The Los Angeles Times and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Idol fixes: Six suggestions

••••Bring on better acts and mentors: We liked the Gwen Stefani episodes. Try some musicians that appeal to young viewers and their parents — The Killers, or U2, or Fergie (minus her “Humps”).

••••Pare down the results show to the actual results. That will give us 57 minutes of our life back. Will we do something useful with that time? Probably not.

••••Provide better coaching and support for interesting contestants. That way, by the time we get to the Final Four, maybe someone with charisma will be left.

••••No theme nights for songwriters over 40. If the “Idol” contestants haven’t heard the songs — or were born after they were released — they probably shouldn’t be performing them. (Are you listening, Petula Clark?)

••••Tamp down the pseudo-homophobic banter between Ryan Seacrest and Simon Cowell. We don’t know whether it affects ratings; we simply find it annoying.

••••Put an end to group performances. This is a competition, not a choir. People who sound perfectly fine singing separately can sound truly wretched singing together.
{b staff}

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