14 DAY TRIAL // That day has finally come: after years of bringing in spectacular ratings, which turned them into the highest earning family in reality television, the Kardashians are losing ground in the industry. The latest Keeping Up with the Kardashians episode aired to disappointing ratings.
Compared to the series’ high of 4.1 million viewers for Kim’s wedding special, her baby shower episode was nothing to write home to mom, averaging only about 1.7 million, of which “only 1 million viewers between the ages of 18 and 49, which is said to be the most important demo in TV,” Radar Online reports.
This makes the episode the least watched this season, and the series’ third ever.
The aforementioned e-zine speculates that the drop in ratings is probably caused by the ongoing drama in the family (Lamar Odom’s reported drug problems and the imminent divorce, Kris Jenner’s own marriage trouble, Kim’s alleged drama with Kanye), but Glamour actually has a better explanation.
The Kardashians are no longer performing as before in the ratings because fewer and fewer people tune in on the show to see what they’ve been doing, already having several other options to stay up to date in real time, like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and the media in general.
So, while the Kardashians are still as popular as ever, if not actually more so than before, their reality show is going down because it simply can’t keep up with them.
“So the question is, what now? The show that made the Kardashians famous is now the least potent weapon in their arsenal: They have makeup lines, clothing lines, endorsements, movie cameos,” Glamour writes.
“But if Keeping Up goes by the wayside, they'll have to become good enough – they'll have to become great enough – at that other stuff to make sure we don't forget them even after we've forgotten their reality roots. Which, it appears, we already are,” adds the same media outlet.