‘The Voice’ vs. ‘American Idol’: Who’s the Social Media Champ?

“American Idol” started out the season with an advantage in the social-media universe — but did it hold onto the lead?

"The Voice" has proven to be a formidable foe to the formerly untouchable "American Idol" on the ratings front. But how do the two shows compare when it comes to social media?

Advertising Age recently teamed with social-media monitoring firm Trendrr in an effort to determine which show is creating the most buzz in the social-media world. And while the results aren't entirely conclusive (and quite possibly not entirely scientific), it appears that NBC's "The Voice" is coming out ahead.

Also read: "The Voice" Is Top-Rated Show of the Season — Can "American Idol" Regain Lead?

Looking at Twitter and Facebook conversations, as well as check-ins at GetClue and Miso, Trendrr calculated that "The Voice" has generated 21 percent more social activity per episode on average this season,

Looking at their entire seasons so far, though, "The Voice" has been averaging 21 percent more social activity per episode than "Idol." And it seems that "The Voice" has the bigger momentum on the social-media front: Season 2 of "The Voice" has averaged 30 percent more social-media activity per episode than it did for its maiden season, versus just a 10 percent gain over last season for "Idol."

Also read: "American Idol" Has Everything (Except Singing)

Oddly, "Idol" started the season with an advantage: The Jan. 18 premiere of the show's 11th season amassed 39 percent more social-media activity than the Season 2 premiere of "The Voice" on Feb. 12.

As far as Twitter followers are concerned, the two shows are fairly even, with "The Voice"'s 538,000 followers narrowly besting 516,000 for "Idol." "Idol," however, rules Facebook, with 8,835,000 likes, compared to 2,614,000 for "The Voice."

Social-media activity for both shows is nearly identical when divided along gender lines; "Idol" activity is 65 percent female 35 percent male, while "The Voice" has a 69 percent female to 31 percent male split.

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