‘Dancing with the Stars’: Host Tom Bergeron talks season 17 format change

Dancing with the StarsAs you heard earlier this week, there are some big changes coming in the world of “Dancing with the Stars.” For the first time since all the way back in the show’s first season, there will be no results show airing on Thursday night. It’s shocking, but in a way, did we ever really need an hour-long results show, anyway? While there were funny moments, we found these to be even more filler-based than the ones on “American Idol” or the now-defunct “So You Think You Can Dance” results show (which actually had quite a bit going on).

Let’s start with the sad news that thanks to this schedule shift, Tom Bergeron tells E! News that some people are probably going to end up losing their jobs on the show thanks to the budget cuts:

“I am hopeful. I get why they did it. Dancing With the Stars, like many other shows, has suffered ratings erosion. Only 40 percent of the viewers who watch on Tuesday watch the Monday show. I think it could really help the show’s longevity in the long-term.

“In the short-term, it hurts, because you lose some staff members very likely and things of that nature, but I certainly get it.”

The statement that Tom presented here really shocked us, since we thought the viewer totals would be pretty similar. We still stand by the fact that the problem with “Dancing with the Stars” is not necessarily viewer erosion as much as it is the time-slot: When the show aired its premiere before “The Voice” came back, the ratings were stronger than they were pretty much all year. The singing show took away a pretty good chunk (around 30%) of the show’s demo audience, and moving it to Tuesday nights (where there is at least one hour without having to face off against Blake Shelton’s goofy sneer) could have been a good idea.

As for the hope that the shift down to an hour could help the show, we’re sadly a little more pessimistic. For evidence, “So You Think You Can Dance” suffered in the ratings last year, and the genuine feeling was that there was less investment. Plus, are you going to have as easy a time getting stars to sign up when it means less screen time a week and possibly fewer viewers?

If you want more on this schedule shift and also others at ABC, you can do so over here.

Photo: ABC

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