NashvilleHype!

You hear this kind of report every year, but this year, because NashvilleHype! has a vested interest (we not only want Ashlee Hewitt to win, we want the whole country to know who she is!), we really hate to hear this - and can only hope that things pick up.

According to Media Life Magazine:

The country crooners on NBC’s “Nashville Star” hit an off note in their second outing last night. Though the series continues to improve on its ratings from last year, when it aired on USA, the show saw a substantial decline in its second week of competition.

“Star” averaged a 1.8 adults 18-49 rating last night from 9 to 10:30 p.m., according to Nielsen overnights, off 18 percent from an opening-week 2.2. That’s still well ahead of what the show averaged on USA last year.

But “Star” finished fifth in the 9 p.m. hour, behind even Univision’s “Fuego en la Sangre,” and it barely topped ABC bomb “The Mole” during the 10 p.m. half hour, averaging a 1.9 to the latter’s 1.6.

Relaunching a cable show on broadcast is a very difficult undertaking, as those shows tend to be more niche and appeal to a narrower audience. While “Star” certainly will draw in country music fans, it does not have the broad appeal of a show like “American Idol,” which includes a number of different genres.

Of course it didn’t get much help from lead-in “American Gladiators,” which tied for fourth in the 8 p.m. timeslot with Univision’s “Al Diablo con los Guapos,” dropping the network to fourth for the night. 

Maybe NBC can make some changes — as in, change the terrible lead in show.  I mean, doesn’t Hulk Hogan have enough bad press already?