Winter Games
chill against Fox's 'Idol'
Average 20.3 million viewers, down nearly 5 million
By Diego Vasquez
Feb 18, 2010
On Tuesday, facing their toughest competition yet, the Olympics fell to their lowest ratings in their first five nights of competition.
Against Fox's "American Idol," the Games managed just 20.3 million total viewers in primetime, according to Nielsen overnights, down from 25.2 million the previous night and well below the average 27.9 million viewers who watched the first four nights of the Olympics.
"Idol" stayed undefeated against all competition the past six years. The show has not finished behind another show for any half-hour among total viewers or adults 18-49 since May 2004, when it was beaten by "Fear Factor."
Still, this year's Games continue to pace well ahead of the 2006 Turin Olympics, and they did so again Tuesday, even with "Idol" hurting the numbers.
Tuesday's competition was up 10 percent over the first Tuesday of the Turin games. And the Olympics performed better head-to-head against "Idol" than it did four years ago, when the Fox show posted an advantage of 11 million fans compared to 3.9 million during their shared 8 to 10 p.m. timeslot Tuesday.
"Idol" may be the only show capable of beating the Olympics this year, which is either a sign of broadcast's declining numbers or the Games' increasing strength, depending on how you look at it.
During the last Games, "Grey's Anatomy," "Desperate Housewives" and "House" also outdrew the Olympics among 18-49s. This year "Idol" is the only show on television averaging more than 21 million total viewers or a 5.5 18-49 rating.
Through five nights, the Games are averaging 26.4 million total viewers, up 22 percent from Turin and the most-watched non-U.S. Winter Games since the 1994 Lillehammer Games.
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