Primetime Ratings: Single-Digits for Idol
Final American Idol Sing-Off Between David Cooke, David Archuletta Fails to Crack Double-Digits
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 5/21/2008 8:01:00 AM
American Idol easily won the night in the 18-49 demo Tuesday with the final sing-off between the two Davids (Cooke and Archuletta), but the 8 p.m.-9 p.m. show did not earn a double-digit rating -- essentially a given in the show's early days.
Idol averaged a 9.7 rating/27 share to lead Fox to a 7.7/20 average in the demo for the night. Hell's Kitchen was the second-highest-rated show of the night with a 5.6/14, although it was the third-highest-rated hour after the last hour of ABC's Dancing with the Stars finale (5.7/15 from 10 p.m.-11 p.m.).
ABC was second on the night in the demo with a 4.1/11 for an all-dancing evening comprising a repeat of the previous night's final dance-off from 8 p.m.-9 p.m., followed by the two-hour finale that reunited the show with the season's losing stars, including Adam Corolla, who claimed that the show's diversity and level-playing-field dance floor was the reason why terrorists hate us.
Viewers certainly didn't hate it, with its rating growing from a 4.7 at 9 p.m. to a 5.8 at 10:30 p.m.
CBS was third with a 3.1/8, led by a two-hour NCIS, which averaged a 3.4/9 from 8 p.m.-10 p.m.
NBC was in distant fourth with a 1.6/4 for a lineup of repeats plus clip show Most Outrageous Moments.
The CW was fifth with a 1 rating/3 share for a repeat and original episode of Reaper.
