AMERICAN IDOL Finale Soars to #1 Wednesday with 2.8 Million Viewers on CTV

- Phillip Phillips crowned the winner as AMERICAN IDOL has the highest-rated reality finale of the season, and second-largest finale overall -
- In Toronto, one in three A18-34 viewers watching TV saw finale -
- AMERICAN IDOL finale sets social media record -

To tweet this release: http://bit.ly/Kzp0m9

TORONTO, May 24, 2012 /CNW/ - In a star-studded, two-hour live finale that included a proposal and performances by judges Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler with his band Aerosmith, AMERICAN IDOL came out on top as Wednesday's most-watched program with 2.8 million viewers on CTV. The two-hour Season 11 finale last night at 8 p.m. brought in the series' largest overnight audience of the season, making it the #1 program of the night with total viewers and in the key A18-49 (1.16 million) and A25-54 (1.17 million) demos. Last night's AMERICAN IDOL was the highest-rated reality finale of the season and the second-largest finale overall of the season (next to THE BIG BANG THEORY).

Following a record 132 million votes and performances from the Top 12 competitors, the finale grew in each half hour, peaking at 4.16 million viewers at 10:02 p.m. when 21-year-old Phillip Phillips from Leesburg, Georgia was revealed as the winner. In all, 7.1 million viewers watched some or all of IDOL last night.

Among Adults 18-34, nearly one in three Torontonians watching TV last night tuned in to the IDOL finale; in Vancouver, it was one in four. AMERICAN IDOL was the top entertainment program of the night in all markets. In addition, the finale also saw notable above average ratings in Toronto and Vancouver in the key demos.

AMERICAN IDOL Market Share in Toronto and Vancouver

Areas	Program	2+	A18-34	A18-49	A25-54
Toronto/Hamilton EM	AMERICAN IDOL 11	29.4	31.6	30.3	28.9
Vancouver/Victoria EM	AMERICAN IDOL 11	24.6	25.3	27.2	26.4

AMERICAN IDOL Ratings for Toronto and Vancouver

	2+	A18-34	A18-49	A25-54
Toronto/Hamilton EM	10.3	10.9	9.9	9.5
Vancouver/Victoria EM	7.5	7.2	7.6	7.7

According to the social analytics firm Bluefin Labs in the U.S., last night's IDOL finale generated 5,956,134 total social comments, an all-time record in this medium's short history.

From the red carpet to backstage at the finale, ETALK has exclusive interviews with Phillips and runner-up Jessica Sanchez, as well as Steven Tyler, country singer Carrie Underwood, and Mike Fisher, tonight at 7 p.m. ET on CTV (visit CTV.ca to confirm local broadcast times).

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:
Twitter -
@CTV_PR
@CTV_Television
@etalkCTV
@AmericanIdol

Facebook:
www.facebook.com/CTV

About CTV
CTV, Canada's Olympic Network, is also Canada's largest private broadcaster. Featuring a wide range of quality news, sports, information, and entertainment programming, CTV is Canada's most-watched television network and lead broadcaster of the London 2012 Olympic Games. CTV is a division of Bell Media, Canada's premier multimedia company with leading assets in television, radio and digital. Bell Media is owned by BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE), Canada's largest communications company. More information about CTV can be found on the network's website at ctv.ca.

Christy Sullivan, CTV, 416.384.3624 or [email protected]
Allie Page, CTV, 416.384.4596 or [email protected]