Fox Apologizes for Idol Gaffe
By Alex Weprin -- Broadcasting & Cable, 5/24/2007 1:55:00 PM
Fox has apologized for running over the allotted two hour timeslot on Wednesday's American Idol finale. The show was scheduled to end at 10:00 PM, however, the winner was announced at 10:03 PM, and the show ended at 10:09 PM. As a result of the mistake, many viewers who recorded the show on their DVR’s missed the announcement of the winner.
"We're sorry that DVR users may have missed the conclusion of the American Idol broadcast. It was always our intention to bring the show in on time, but just as with any live sports, variety, awards or entertainment event, there is no way to absolutely guarantee that the show will end exactly on the hour. Fox and the producers apologize to those viewers who were inconvenienced," said a spokesperson for the company.
There was some good news for Fox, however, as the latest ratings show that American Idol’s ratings at 8p increased to 11.5/31 among Adults 18-49 in the final nationals, up from 11.1/30, and 30.7 million up from 29.5 million among Total Viewers.
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Why is Fox appologizing now. They have been running over all season long. I would always have to record the next show in order to watch the end.
Also, this just goes to show that iGuide needs to work with industry to fix this problem.
David Brown - 5/25/2007 7:53:00 AM EDT -
I TOTALLY agree. They could have left out all stupid awards and ended on time. They should DEFINITELY rebroadcast the last half hour for those of us who waded through an entire season only to miss the whole point of the season.
Susee Quan - 5/24/2007 11:56:00 PM EDT -
following hour to find out the winner. Actually, a lot of those two hours
could have been done away with. I think giving trophys to the weird ones
is, in a way, making fun of them (I felt squeamish). I think Fox could run
that last half hour again?
