Ideal, not idle summer for Fox;
American Idol turned into a surprising smash hit; now here come the copycats
Paige Albiniak
Broadcasting & Cable
September 09, 2002
With more than one-fifth of American households tuning in to the finale American
Idol last Wednesday, Fox's summer blockbuster garnered the biggest audience
share the network has ever had in the 18-49 demographic.
Although the show was intended for the young audiences Fox prefers, the last
episode dominated the 8-10 p.m. ET time slot with a whopping 12.5 rating/21
share in households. It was first in all the key Nielsen Media Research
categories as well--even adults 50-plus, though tied with CBS in that demo. Not
only was that good news for Fox, but the show gave a summer-long platform for
promoting Fox's fall season, which could use the buzz.
Wednesday's finale was Fox's second-highest-rated entertainment program in total
viewers and in adults 18-49 but was unable to topple its champ, the finale of
Beverly Hills 90210 on May 25, 1994. Sporting events, such as the Super Bowl,
also have outstripped Idol's performance.
Still, the show was a summer phenom, with all the network morning news shows
covering Texan Kelly Clarkson's win. Runner-up Justin Guarini appeared on
NBC Today show last Thursday, and Clarkson gave a live concert to Today viewers
and Rockefeller Center visitors on Friday.