Long before The Voice was even a thought, American Idol reigned supreme as the go-to competition series on television. Over the course of its 15 seasons, Idol helped launch now-superstar artists such as Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, and Jennifer Hudson.
Then The Voice came along in 2011, and completely changed the game. Rather than having judges like Idol, The Voice adopted the concept of having coaches. Instead of critiquing contestants, the coaches work directly with their team members to prepare them for each week of competition.
In addition, The Voice introduced the concept of the blind audition. In Idol, all of the judges get the chance to see and chat with each prospective contestant before they sing. But on The Voice, coaches have their backs turned to a contestant as they perform their audition, and only turn if they want them on their team.
This new show model was incredibly appealing, and viewers flocked to tune in to The Voice. Before long, it was the clear leader over all other competition series, including Idol.
After 15 seasons, Idol decided to bring things to an end in 2016. But it wasn’t long before the show was picked up for a reboot on a new network, and that season just debuted a couple of weeks ago.
Airings of The Voice and American Idol have been overlapping, leaving viewers to pick between the two shows. It’s an especially tough choice for country fans, since Blake Shelton is a coach on The Voice, while Luke Bryan is a judge on Idol.
Finally, the numbers have come in to reveal which of the two series is winning the ratings race. So is it the newer viewer favorite, The Voice, or the show that got this all started, American Idol?
Drum roll please…
Based on the numbers, The Voice is winning the ratings race…and it’s winning by a mile!
According to a report by Fox News, The Voice drew in 10.7 million viewers on Monday night (March 19), while only 7.7 million tuned in to watch Idol. It’s important to note that The Voice is also several weeks further along in its season than Idol, which is only on its second week.
Even when it wasn’t competing with The Voice, the numbers for Idol didn’t look good. On Sunday night (March 18), the show drew in 7.7 million viewers, which was down 26% from its season premiere episode the week prior.
Only time will tell if the viewership will pick up for Idol. But if it doesn’t, who knows if there will be another season in the future?
Now that you know all of the numbers, we want to know your thoughts. Why do you think The Voice is beating out Idol in ratings? Which show do you prefer to watch, or do you watch both?