AMERICAN IDOL Rocks: 2.62 Million Watch: Kris Allen Crowned on CTV

– Audience peaks at 3.575 million viewers in final Minutes of Finale –
– Season Finale up 18% over season average –

Toronto – Wednesday night, 2.62 million viewers tuned in to CTV to watch a shocked 23-year-old Kris Allen from Arkansas become the eighth AMERICAN IDOL, preliminary data from BBM Nielsen Media Research confirms. The most-watched program of the night, week and month, it was also the most-watched AMERICAN IDOL episode of the season, up 18% compared to it’s season-to-date average (2+).

Last night’s program becomes one of the most-watched season finales of the year in Canada, following the series finales of CORNER GAS (3.025 million viewers) and ER (2.8 million) in April. The AMERICAN IDOL season finale bested the season finales of SURVIVOR: TOCANTIS by 72% (1,527,000) and HOUSE by 32% (1,989,000).

After an intense singing showdown between favourite Adam Lambert and Kris Allen on Tuesday night, Wednesday’s highly anticipated finale grew in each half-hour and peaked with 3.6 million viewers when the surprising verdict was read at 10:01 p.m., announcing the coronation of fan-favourite Kris Allen.