After all the hype regarding Tuesday’s ratings battle between “American Idol” and the 2010 Winter Olympics, when push came to shove, the competition ended up fairly one-sided.
Though it took a slight hit from last week’s numbers, “American Idol” proved quite resilient in battling NBC’s sports coverage, averaging 23.64 million viewers and a 9.1 adults 18-49 rating.
During the head-to-head portion from 8PM to 10PM, the Olympics averaged only 19.74 million viewers with a 5.1 rating in the demo. Not even the inclusion of the relatively-uncontested 10PM hour, which brings the Olympics broadcast average up to a 5.4 with 20.41 million viewers, was enough to get the Games on the radar of the dominant “Idol.”
Compared to Monday’s fast nationals, Tuesday’s Olympics coverage was down 20% in total viewers and 25% in the demo. “Idol” was down 15% in total viewers and 10% in the demo from last Tuesday’s airing.
Despite the heavy competition from FOX and NBC, ABC’s “Lost” was fairly stable with a 4.5 and 9.79 million viewers. Lead-out “the forgotten” was not so successful, however, posting a 1.7 with 5.05 million viewers.
LOST already below 10 million? Just wait until after next week.