Let's play around with these figures:
- Each epsiode must have generated around 3.5 million votes. With each episode attracting around 2o million viewers, this means that 17% of viewers participated in text message voting. Hmm, that seems unlikely, especially because Cingular only has a market share of around 27%. It would indicate that 65% of all Cingular subscribers watching American Idol actually sent a text message. Probably Cingular counted all messages (both Mobile Originated and Mobile Terminated). So, if each vote generates a 'thank you' message, the actual number of votes is probably only 1.75 million, instead of 3.5 million.
- If the votes are spread equally over 3 hours, average traffic was around 350 sms/sec, peak traffic probably closer to twice that mount (700 sms/sec)
- If all carriers had participated, the total number of text messages could have been 154 million, representing 72 million votes (assuming each MO generates a 'thank you' MT)
- If Fox would have offered this service as a premium SMS service, charging a voter 50c per vote, the gross revenue could have been $38 million, or $3.2 million per episode, which would probably take care of the entire production budget...
