Pop music doesn't work on Network TV any more because
1. Its target audience is online
and
2. It is too available elsewhere
and
3. Its target audience elsewhere.
But even so, the Justin Bieber two night prime special to push Believe was a disaster. Both nights were the least watched shows of the evening, and 0.9 and 0.8's are really fairly terrible. The album will be at # 1 on the Bllboard 200 this week, with nearly half a million units sold. Not bad at all.
But it doesn't translate far beyond teen girls and doesn't appear to have broken Bieber beyond his fanbase.
To add insult to injury, Bieber compared himself to the Beatles during the, frankly, just a PR handjob, special. It is worth mentioning that the Beatles first appearance on Ed Sullivan reached 67M people, Bieber reached 3M. This isn't to hate on Bieber, the hysteria he provokes is very real indeed, but it is to put his head back on his shoulders. The handsome wimp is heading for a fall and he better steady himself or he will be opening Shopping Malls with Vanilla Ice.