It's that time of year again. American Idol returned to Fox on Wednesday night, with as much attention fixed on the new judges panel as how this latest retooling might help stem several years of steep ratings losses.
The verdict is in, and Fast Affiliate returns have American Idol premiering its 13th season to an average 4.6 rating among adults 18-49 and 15 million viewers. That's 23 from last year's opener in the key demo -- which brought a 6.0 rating among adults 18-49 and just a shade over 17.9 million viewers.
American Idol could still move up a few notches in final ratings, which will be available later in the day.
More to come...
