American Idol

Following Casey Abrams’ Wednesday night performance of Maroon 5’s Harder to Breathe, the American Idol judge commented that Abrams brings out jealousy in others because “You’re so f—ing great.”

Last night’s shocking result on American Idol was seen by fewer people than last week, but Fox still dominated the night. Idol averaged a 6.1 adults 18-49 rating, off 8% from last week’s 6.6. It was easily the night’s highest-rated show, well ahead of CBS’s The Big Bang Theory with a 3.6, and the results are getting a lot of buzz online this morning.

American Idol dipped a bit from last week but it still dominated, lifting Fox to an easy victory last night. Idol averaged a 7.5 adults 18-49 rating from 8 to 10 p.m., down 5% from the previous week. Fox still managed to better the combined total of the other Big Five networks for the night, however, and Idol more than doubled the rating for the evening’s No. 2 show, CBS’s Criminal Minds, which averaged a 3.4.

Last night’s NCAA regional semifinals, airing on CBS and TBS, scored big gains over last year, when the tourney aired only on CBS and the games were regionalized. Still, that wasn’t nearly enough to lift CBS to a win on the night. Fox’s American Idol rebounded from last week’s season low to average a 6.2 adults 18-49 rating at 8 p.m., up 9 percent week to week.

American Idol dominated the mostly original ratings competition last night, boosting Fox to an easy win on an evening where it more than tripled runner-up CBS’s average.

Fox’s American Idol continues to hold up pretty well with new judges Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler. Last night’s episode, which saw Ashton Jones become the first of this year’s 13 finalists to be eliminated, averaged a 6.5 rating among viewers 18-49 in the 8 p.m. hour. That’s off just a tick from a 6.6 for last season’s first elimination episode of the finals. But last night’s episode also averaged 21.73 million total viewers, up from 20.05 million last year, and it did so versus tougher competition.

In the first “live” performance episode of the season (which was really taped earlier in the day just in case of flubs by new judges Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler), American Idol saw ratings rise over last week. The two-hour show averaged an 8.0 adults 18-49 rating from 8 to 10 p.m., up 4% over last week’s 7.7 for a 90-minute episode.

American Idol dominates the competition on nights when the competition is original, so its domination was even more thorough last night, when the other networks were in reruns. With Idol the only non-repeat on the Big 5 networks, No. 1 Fox quadrupled the average for the night’s No. 2 network, CBS.  Fox averaged an 8.1 adults 18-49 rating and 23 share for the two-hour Idol from 8 to 10 p.m., up from a 7.2 for last week’s show as the 13 finalists were set.

Fox wrapped up an easy February sweeps victory with a win on the final night of the four-week period used by local stations to set rates for advertisers. Powered by a 90-minute American Idol, Fox averaged a 6.5 adults 18-49 rating and 18 share, more than doubling No. 2 CBS on the night.

A two-hour American Idol dominated the competition on the final Thursday of the February sweeps. Idol averaged a 7.2 adults 18-49 rating, peaking with a 7.5 in its final half hour at 9:30 p.m. Idol, though down from a 7.5 last week, was up 11% over the comparable night last year.

The hour-long show, in which guests will be suprised by a life-changing announcement accompanied by a song-and-dance spectacle, will air immediately following American Idol on March 31.

A slight bounce back for Fox’s American Idol led the network to a comfortable first-place finish last night among viewers 18-49, its third straight Thursday night February sweeps win. Idol posted a 7.5 among 18-49s in its 8 p.m. timeslot, up 4% from a 7.2 last week and even to two weeks ago.

American Idol boosted Fox to its second straight Thursday night February sweeps win, easily besting rivals CBS and ABC despite slight declines for its top show. Idol averaged a 7.2 adults 18-49 rating, down 4% from last week’s 7.5 but 85% better than the two shows that tied for No. 2 on the night, The Big Bang Theory and Grey’s Anatomy (3.9 apiece).

Fox’s 10-year-old behemoth is trying to rediscover its voice, but it’s still a lesson in how a network and its affiliates can sing in unison.

Fox steamed to its third straight Thursday victory last night, kicking off the February sweeps with an easy win. Boosted by American Idol, Fox averaged a 5.4 adults 18-49 rating and 14 share, 74% ahead of CBS and ABC, who tied for second at 3.1/8. It marked Fox’s first-ever victory among 18-49s to open a February sweeps period, as this is the first year Idol has aired regularly on Thursdays.

Fox has not signed a deal to carry American Idol beyond this season and negotiations on a renewal are set to begin soon. While there is little question that Idol will be on the air for years to come, Fox may have some more leverage with ratings drops and the coming new Simon Cowell-fronted X Factor that could impact Idol producer CKX.

Fox’s American Idol contracted from two to one hour last night, but it saw minimal declines despite the shorter running time. The show averaged an 8.9 adults 18-49 rating, off 3% from last week’s 9.2. But that 9.2 was for a 120-minute episode where hour two rose 11% over hour one. Last night’s episode was actually up slightly over Idol‘s first hour last week, which drew an 8.5.

Night two of Fox’s American Idol showed substantial dips compared to night one, though the show remained quite dominant over the competition. Idol averaged a 7.7 adults 18-49 rating in its new 8 p.m. timeslot, off 21% from a 9.7 for Wednesday’s season 10 debut, which was two hours. Last night’s show was only 60 minutes.

After mulling such a move for several years, Fox is finally doing it this season: reality juggernaut American Idol will change its pattern to Wednesday and Thursday night in what is clearly Fox’s most serious attempt to date to become a force on Thursday night.