Did you watch Idol last night?

American Idol's 12th season has gotten off to a rough start --  the first episode had a 19 percent decline in viewers from last season.

According to Nielsen, 17.9 million people watched the show Wednesday night, compared with 21.9 million who took in the premiere episode 2012.

FOX execs say competing shows like X Factor and The Voice are to blame for the decline. Mike Darnell, a Fox Broadcasting president, tells the Wall Street Journal, "There were two on in the fall and there will be two on in the spring, and they’re all being eroded... It’s 12 years old and you can’t expect everything to stay as big as Idol was."