In Depth
‘American Idol’ Ratings: Lowest Performance Finale Ever
Tuesday night’s “American Idol” was the series’ lowest-rated final performance night ever.
Last night’s episode drew an 8.3 rating/24 share among adults 18-49, according to preliminary Nielsen Media Research figures. About 23.1 million viewers tuned in to see Adam Lambert and Kris Allen give their final performances before a winner is crowned tonight.
Compared with last year’s live-plus-same-day numbers, last night’s “Idol” dropped 18% in the demo and 15% in total viewers.
Week to week, “Idol” posted a 4% increase, but that bump pales in comparison to the 12% weekly increase for the comparable episodes last year. In total viewers, this year’s final performance saw a 2% weekly increase, while last year there was a 9% increase.
Final numbers are expected to reflect a bump in “Idol’s” performance once the show’s three-minute overrun into the 9 p.m. hour is taken into consideration, maxing out at an 8.4 or 8.5 rating in the demo.
“Idol” was up against fierce competition for the night, including the finale of “Dancing With the Stars” and NBA basketball coverage. Check out Ratings Chart Attack later today for a full recap of the night.
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sandy
the american idol formula is getting old. i think the more popular model nowadays is the "britain got's talent" and "america's got talent" shows. these shows are open to all ages and all talents. you don't see stories like susan boyle's coming out of american idol. all that come out of there are sugar-coated pop stars, and, frankly, i think people are getting sick of that. the format of the "got talent" show is a refreshing change!