The Question, Thursday 1/24/13: How Much Glee Will a Better Lead-in Bring?

The last time American Idol and Glee were regularly paired together was the spring of 2010, when Glee was a promising new show launched to superstardom by the pairing. Fox planned on pairing them again in the second half of Glee's second season, but the show did so well on its own that it ultimately wasn't needed. Tonight, they reunite, with Glee in a very different place: fading fast. Now, the Idol boost is more about stopping the bleeding than creating a big hit. How much Glee will a better lead-in bring? That's The Question for Thursday, January 24, 2013.

American Idol This Season	Glee in Recent Weeks
6.0 (Wednesday 1/16/13) 5.4 (Thursday 1/17/13) 5.4 (Wednesday 1/23/13, -10% vs.last wk)	2.2 (Thursday 11/29/12, 2.9 8:30 X Factor) 2.2 (Thursday 12/6/12, 2.7 X) 2.0 (Thursday 12/13/12, 2.6 X)

Assuming Glee's lead-in is about three points bigger than for its last episode, the True2 formula would suggest that Glee should go up by half a point to a 2.5. I'm leaning slightly above that since CBS is in repeats and maybe the 2.0 was a bit of an outlier (as the previous two weeks got 2.2).

Over/Under: 2.55.

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