‘Duck Dynasty’ season 5 finale rises, actually beats ‘American Idol’ finale
Given all the talk about the downfall of “Duck Dynasty” in the wake of Phil Robertson’s comments to GQ (and also a little bit of the natural viewer fatigue that sort of comes along with being on the air as long as this show has been, here is something that you probably did not see coming: The ratings for the show actually still being higher than most everything else on primetime television Wednesday night.
The A&E series drew a 2.5 in the 18-49 demographic Wednesday, which was enough to make them the #1 show on cable on the night by a longshot. They were also stronger than “American Idol” or “Survivor,” and were only in second place to “Modern Family” on the night in that important demographic. What you can mostly likely attribute these numbers to above anything else is the commitment from faith-based families and young people to the show. This is a demographic that is somewhat ignored at times in publications, but still tends to show up for their products.
Still, these ratings are the lowest for the series since its very early days for a finale, and serve as proof that this is now less of a global smash hit the way that it once was. We don’t expect the Robertsons to go anywhere still, given that this is the top-rated series on A&E and also a great platform for their Duck Commander line of products. That is where we presume that family really makes most of their money from compared to the show, given that they don’t have to give the network the same cut of everything there.
The real test for this show now will be seeing what happens when the show returns for its next go-around. This upcoming sixth season will be the first one shot since A&E temporarily suspended Phil Robertson for his controversial comments, only to reinstate him not too long after the fact.
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