Expedition Impossible: ABC Worldwide Competition; Cancel or Keep It?

ABC recently unveiled a new reality competition series called Expedition Impossible. From Mark Burnett, the force behind Survivor and The Apprentice, the TV show bears more than a passing resemblance to CBS’ long-running The Amazing Race. Will this new series be as successful or will it be quickly cancelled instead?

Hosted by zoologist Dave Salmoni, Expedition Impossible follows 13 teams of three people racing through the great outdoors — across barren deserts and over snow-covered mountains. Each week, a new part of the expedition is revealed to the contestants and at least one team is eliminated from the competition. The winning trio of adventurers receives $50,000 each in prize money and a new Ford Explorer.

The TV series debuted on June 23rd to a 2.4 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 7.18 million viewers, airing opposite all repeats. That was a healthy premiere and Expedition Impossible was first in the timeslot for the demo and second in total viewership, behind CSI.

A week later, the demo numbers fell 25% to a 1.8 in the demo and 6.16 million viewers. The following episodes’ ratings kept dropping week after week with occasional upward spikes. On August 11th, Expedition Impossible hit a low of a 1.1 demo rating and just 3.83 million viewers.

So far this season, it’s averaging a 1.6 in the demo and 5.19 million viewers. With the exception of Friday night’s Karaoke Battle USA, Expedition Impossible has the worst ratings average of any reality competition series currently on the network. It had a solid start but the overall decline has been serious.

ABC could choose to bring this show back for season two but, quite honestly, they have other summer options that perform better.

But, what do you think? Does Expedition Impossible deserve to be renewed for season two or should it be cancelled instead?