March 11th brings with it the return of ‘American Idol’ – but it also signals a the start of a brazen ratings battle.

Full story below…

It was initially reported that ABC‘s Idol reboot (starring Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, and Luke Bryan) would air on Sundays. But it turns out that that was only one component of its broadcast strategy.

It’s now become apparent that the show will be screened over two-nights, Sundays and Mondays at 8pm-10pm.

The latter will see it go head-to-head with NBC‘s ratings juggernaut ‘The Voice’ – which on that particular cycle will be welcoming Idol’s most successful offspring Kelly Clarkson.

Oh the drama

See, beyond the Clarkson tie-in, this will mark the second time the shows will have duked it out for ratings supremacy.

For, they have quite a tangled history.

‘Idol’ reigned relatively unchallenged for years, yet when ‘The Voice’ debuted in 2011 the tide turned fairly quickly. Indeed, by the second season of the chair-spinning phenomenon, it has eclipsed ‘Idol’ with the ratings and never looked back.

When talk of a reboot first surfaced, NBC (who air ‘The Voice’) seemed to be the front-runners in the race for broadcast rights. And the internal chatter was that the network would use the new ‘Idol’ to do away with the two-seasons a year format of ‘The Voice’ – a move designed to keep the show fresh, prevent over-saturation, and avoid competition.

With rival ABC snagging the rights, all of that of course is no longer a factor and it seems one show is making a direct send for the other.

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In other news, producers have revealed that they plan to away with the overt focus on “bad auditions” and instead keep the spotlight on talent. Arguably, similar to ‘The Voice.’

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For us, all we’re wanting is for any of these shows to produce viable stars like Fantasia, Kelly Clarkson, and the like.

If not, then what’s the point? That’s of course a rhetorical question because it’s clear dollars are the primary aim. But surely such shows will be even more lucrative if they managed to deliver dynamite talent and success narratives too?!

Your thoughts?