Songland premiere ratings solid; America’s Got Talent down
Let’s kick things off with one of the biggest gambles that the network made this season. We’re talking here about Songland, a singing competition that is really more about songwriting than it is being able to belt out a few high notes. Is this the sort of thing that viewers are going to embrace over time? There are legitimate concerns about it, mostly because it’s a lot more about creation than talent, and to some people, the creative process can be a little bit boring. Even after reading some reaction to the first episode online, we’ve seen some people who are elated with the show’s presentation of writing and creating great music. Meanwhile, we have heard plenty of other complaints from people discussing how dull they perceived the process to be through a single episode.
For at least this week, NBC at least must feel pretty satisfied. The first episode generated a 1.2 rating in the 18-49 demographic, otherwise known as the most important demographic for all things TV ratings. This is what advertisers covet, and what we often talk about here at the site more so than total viewers. If Songland is able to maintain these ratings for the majority of the season, we feel pretty darn satisfied with the idea of the network bringing it back.
If you missed it, be sure to check out our video take on last night’s premiere at the bottom of this article. After you do that, be sure to subscribe to CarterMatt on YouTube for more updates.
Ask for what preceded Songland on NBC Tuesday night, the premiere of America’s Got Talent season 14 was very successful, but at the same time, maybe a slight disappointment from what the show did at this point a year ago. Despite having new judges in Gabrielle Union and Julianne Hough, the first episode generated a 1.7 rating in the demo. This is a pretty substantial decrease from where it was at this point at the start of season 13, when the show had established judges Mel B and Heidi Klum on board the panel with Simon Cowell and Howie Mandel.
We don’t want to blame the ratings drop on the big changes behind the scenes since could be other factors here as well. For one, it seems like ratings this summer so far are a little bit down vs past few years. Meanwhile, you can argue that there is some oversaturation going on right now when it comes to the talent TV genre. While America’s Got Talent: The Champions earlier this year turned out to be rather fun, it may be diluting the brand a little bit vs when the show was only on once a year. It’s at least something for us to chart over the course of the next several weeks.
For more news on the AGT premiere, be sure to visit the link here right now!
Now, we want to hear from you. What did you think about the ratings of NBC’s shows on Tuesday night and what were you watching? Be sure to share right now in the comments! (Photo: NBC.)