Phillip Phillips, Jessica Sanchez and Joshua Ledet pose after emerging as American Idol's top three. Per Idol tradition, the trio was whisked off for "hometown visits" to tape segments to air on the Fox competition. The footage typically includes parades, pep rallies and tears. Lots of tears.
Michael Becker / FOXWith a week to go before its season 11 finale, American Idol rose by three-tenths of a ratings point in the adults 18-49 demographic and gained nearly 1 million total viewers. Wednesday’s performance show brought Fox a 4.8 rating in the demo and 17.3 million viewers for the night. The numbers mark a high for May and the best showing among total viewers since the March 28 broadcast.
CBS was a distant second with a 2.7 rating with adults 18-49 and 10.4 million viewers. The two-hour Criminal Minds season finale topped last week’s episode by more than a half-point with a 3.5 demo rating. It also beat last May’s one-hour season finale by 6 percent.
The Middle was the only ABC series to retain last week’s demo showing, with most of the Wednesday lineup suffering modest drops. Suburgatory took the biggest spill, dropping 14 percent in its season finale for a 1.8 rating with adults 18-49. Modern Family lost a half-point for a 3.9 demo rating, a season low, while Apartment 23 dipped to a 2.0. Revenge, down two-tenths of a point, also brought in a 2.0, giving the network a 2.3 demo rating for the night and 6.6 million viewers.
Another double dose of Betty White’s Off Their Rockers on NBC earned a 1.4 and a 1.5 rating among adults 18-49 at 8 and 8:30 p.m., respectively. The comedy was followed by a repeat of a Law & Order: SVU and then an original, the latter coming in just a tenth shy of last week with a 1.7 in the demo. NBC brought in a 1.3 rating with 18-49-ers for the night and 4.5 million viewers.
On the CW, America’s Next Top Model pulled in a 0.5 adults rating.
