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‘American Idol’ Bests Own Premiere Record

Industry watchers have wondered whether American Idol could sustain the fever that had made it the No. 1 show among adults 18-49 for three seasons running. Now, the hit reality show seems poised to deliver better ratings than ever.

Sunday night’s premiere was the most-watched program of the 2006-‘07 season by nearly 10 million viewers, and was also the second-most watched episode of Idol ever, writes Media Life. The premiere was 700,000 short of the series-record of 38 million viewers who watched the finale of season two, nearly four years ago, and is almost 2 million more than last season’s premiere drew.

Fox advertised the premiere on the highly rated NFL playoff games over the past few weeks, and the show also generated a huge amount of pre-premiere buzz that helped the ratings.

Too, Paula Abdul was interviewed on Fox recently to help hype the show, and her behavior on the interview can kindly be described as “bizarre.” The video of her interview, a big hit on YouTube, likely helped boost American Idol viewership, as well.