It looks like AT&T Wireless is in hot water for texting a large percentage of its customers, urging them to watch the season premiere of "American Idol," which debuted Tuesday night.

According to a New York Times report, the wireless carrier sent text messages to a significant percentage of its subscriber base over the past week -- and customer response has been mostly negative. AT&T Wireless is a sponsor of "Idol," and its subscribers can use their phones to vote via text message for their favorite show contestant.

AT&T is defending the text barrage, claiming the messages weren’t spam because they were free, and because customers could opt-out of future ads, the Times reports. The ads were sent to frequent texters and to customers who had voted for "Idol" talent in the past, AT&T says.

Not surprisingly, plenty of AT&T Wireless customers weren’t thrilled with the "Idol" texts, and many say the unsolicited messages met the very definition of spam. Twitter users, for instance, had plenty of negative remarks for AT&T’s marketing barrage.

Wrote brianthawkins:" AT&T is spamming me with text messages about American Idol. Not cool at all."

Brooklahn asked: "Any other AT&T users get spammed last night, despite never having voted on anything involved with American Idol before?"

And from jonmelville: "I knew I wouldn't be the only one pissed off by the annoying American Idol txt msg AT&T send out yesterday."

Looks like AT&T Wireless should rethink its "Idol" marketing campaign. Late-night phone calls, perhaps?