'Idol' premiere draws 37.3 million

January 18, 2007 Rival network executives who hoped that Fox's "American Idol" would show signs of age in its sixth season weren't happy after Tuesday's premiere scored the show's second-highest ratings ever. "Idol" averaged a monster 37.3 million viewers and a 15.7 rating/36 share in the adults 18-49 demographic, according to preliminary data from Nielsen Media Research. The ratings were up 5% in viewers and 3% in adults 18-49 compared with last year's premiere, which certainly was no slouch (35.5 million, 15.3/34).

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