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'American Idol,' 'Human Target' swap timeslots
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FOX has decided against keeping "American Idol" in the 8 o'clock timeslot on Wednesdays this season, which means "Human Target" is getting a new home too.The network had originally planned to air Wednesday's "Idol" at 8 p.m. ET, followed by "Human Target" at 9, which would presumably feed a big audience into the new action series starring Mark Valley. Now, though, FOX has decided to flip the two shows -- but not before "Human Target" gets one post-"Idol" airing, the network confirms to Zap2it.
"Target" is still set to debut at 8 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 17, following FOX's NFL playoff coverage (which will provide another big lead-in). It will then follow an "American Idol" audition show at 9 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 20, before moving to 8 p.m. Wednesdays starting Jan. 27.
The move from 9 to 8 p.m. will deprive "Human Target" of the "Idol" feeder audience, but it also puts the show in a less competitive timeslot. None of the other networks' shows in that time period -- ABC's "The Middle," CBS' "Old Christine" and "Gary Unmarried," NBC's "Mercy" and The CW's "America's Next Top Model" -- averages more than 8 million viewers per week. The competition is somewhat stiffer at 9 with "Criminal Minds" (15.2 million), "Modern Family" (10.2 million) and "Law & Order: SVU" (9.5 million).
Airing the "Idol" results show at 9 on Wednesday -- its home for the last couple of seasons -- virtually guarantees that FOX will win the hour and will likely put a dent in the other shows' ratings as well.
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It doesn't make alot of sense to me that Fox would wait to air the family-friendly shows until after the more violent drama.
But as someone who doesn't care about American Idol, and will be watching Modern Family and (possibly) Human Target, I'm ok with it.
Seriously. This move is rather useless. Even with the competition, HT would have done better after Idol.
Personally, I think the Fox affiliates told the network to do it because an AI lead-in benefits their late local newscasts more than any scripted show ever will.
Really, who cares?
Idol was saved last year by Lambert, it was dying. Human Taget will get Idol some viewers. They need to address their voting procedure day asap, too.Ellen Degeneres give them a boost.