As long-running reality competition series continue to maintain steady viewership across the United States, American Idol has reportedly developed a new voting method that could impact reality television. The ABC series is said to be exploring the inclusion of social media in its voting process. This would integrate the long-running format with modern technology accessible to viewers.
American Idol becomes first reality show to include social media voting
American Idol is planning to introduce social media voting from the next season onwards. They have toyed with the idea for a while. They believe that this could help bring in the next generation of audiences, who have moved away from long-running reality shows.
The new update of using social media comes amidst other big changes planned for the show’s upcoming seasons. “There’s always an immense amount of pressure regarding how we level up. What do we do that’s different? We don’t know who is going to come across our door, but we want to use the momentum of last season to bring in new people and fire them up,” showrunner Megan Michaels Wolflick said (via Deadline).
“We have to meet the audience where they are. Back in 2002, when the show began, texting was the new hot thing. We also have to meet the technology where it is, as well. We want to make it as easy as possible for people to vote for their favorites, weigh in from their couch with their second screen, in real time,” she said about the possibility of doing social media voting. “If we can get Gen Alpha and Gen Z to weigh in a little bit more in the easiest way possible, that’s very exciting. It could tip the scale. Trends are always different,” she added.
If American Idol kicks this off, many other reality shows will surely follow the pattern, especially if it’s a success. This could bring in a whole new era of reality TV, with a particular dependence on new tech.
Originally reported by Sourav Chakraborty on ComingSoon.
