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Idol Ratings Not So Sparkly

Thu., May. 24, 2007 12:37 PM PDT by Gina Serpe

In the end, the Sparkettes couldn't touch the Soul Patrol or Clay Mates.

Proving a fitting end to a season dogged by criticism of mediocrity, American Idol's sixth finale failed to distinguish itself ratings-wise. About 30.7 million viewers tuned in Wednesday night for the 129-minute filler-friendly show to see beauty Jordin Sparks triumph over beatboxing beast Blake Lewis, according to figures from Nielsen Media Research.

While the numbers easily trumped all competition for the night—second-place Lost averaged 13.9 million for its two-hour season ender—viewership was off nearly 16 percent from last year's finale, when a series-high 36.4 million viewers tuned in for Taylor Hicks' 124-minute coronation.

Wednesday's finale did manage to squeak by Carrie Underwood's 2005 win (30.3 million) and best Fantasia Barrino's 2004 triumph (28 million), but paled in comparison to the Ruben Studdard-Clay Aiken faceoff in 2003 (34 million).

Sparks' wattage also outshone Kelly Clarkson's inaugural win, which nevertheless pulled in a then astounding 22.8 million to launch the franchise.

Fox number crunchers won't be too heartened by the fact that the season's first two episodes, focusing on the auditions, averaged more viewers than the finale, drawing 37.4 million and 36.9 million, respectively. But for the remaining 29 episodes, year-to-year viewership was down. Also, Idol averaged its lowest ratings in the prized 18-49 demographic since the inaugural season in 2002.

Despite the slippage, it's not exactly doom-and-gloom time over at stately Cowell manor: The reality competition still laid claim, for the fourth consecutive year, to being the most watched series on TV.

However, they are taking accountability for another shortcoming. Fox has issued an apology to TIVO and DVR owners the country over after the two-hour finale turned into a two-hour-plus one. As the actual announcement of the new American Idol failed to take place until 10:03 p.m., thousands of DVR-dependent viewers caught the 8 to 10 p.m. filler but failed to capture the actual announcement. Fox claims that the special was not intentionally long, but said that live shows do tend to run over.

Not that the show was hurting for eyes. And, considering the Idol domination Wednesday, Lost acquitted itself well.

A solid 13.9 million viewers tuned in over the course of the game-shifting night, peaking in the final half-hour (after Idol checked out for the night), with 15.5 million catching the demise of Charlie and the flash-forward reveal.

Like Idol, Lost has seen its ratings dwindle over the past year. While the castaways posted their best numbers since returning from hiatus back in February, the season finale pulled in roughly 20 percent fewer viewers than its second-season finale's 17.8 million and about 33 percent off its first-season, hatch-opening glory days of 20.7 million.

As it is, both shows will have plenty of time to plot their ratings rebounds—neither is slated to return to the airwaves until early 2008.