AMERICAN IDOL is #1 Show of the Night as the Top 2 Sing to 2.3 Million Viewers on CTV

- DANCING WITH THE STARS season finale is #2 program of the night as 2 million viewers watch Donald Driver become the winner -

- CTV wins Tuesday core prime-time, with Top 2 entertainment programs of the night nationally and in key markets Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary -

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TORONTO, May 23, 2012 /CNW/ - In the battle of Boy vs. Girl, 2.3 million Canadians watched Jessica Sanchez and Phillip Phillips sing their hearts out for votes one last time during the AMERICAN IDOL finale performance show last night on CTV at 8 p.m. Up double digits with total viewers (12%), as well as the key demos of A18-49 (13%) and A25-54 (20%) versus last week, the Performance Finale was the #1 show of the night with total viewers and key demos A25-54 and A18-49.

At 9 p.m. on CTV it was a touchdown for Green Bay Packers wide receiver Donald Driver as 2 million Canadians watched him dance away with the Mirror Ball Trophy during the Season 14 finale of DANCING WITH THE STARS. An overnight season high, the two-hour DANCING WITH THE STARS event out-performed the season finale of GLEE at 9 p.m. (Global/FOX, 1.6 million) by 22% with total viewers. Year over year, DANCING WITH THE STARS's finale grew 14% with A18-34. Growing 6% in its second hour with total viewers, the finale peaked at 10:58 p.m. with 2.43 million viewers as Driver was revealed as the winner.

Overall on Tuesday, CTV wins the core prime-time with the Top 2 entertainment programs nationally and in the key markets Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary.

**Media Note** - Download photos from DANCING WITH THE STARS and AMERICAN IDOL at BellMediaPR.ca

Tonight at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CTV, the winner of AMERICAN IDOL will be revealed as Sanchez or Phillips is crowned the winner during the live two-hour finale. The Top 12 competitors will also reunite for the last time, and global superstar Rihanna will take to the stage to perform her latest smash hit "Where Have You Been."

ETALK's LA correspondent Jessi Cruickshank has all the DANCING WITH THE STARS finale highlights tonight at 7 p.m. ET on CTV, and the finale is now available on demand on the CTV Video Player at CTV.ca.

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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 and CTV Two, 416.384.3624 or [email protected]
Allie Page, CTV and CTV Two, 416.384.4596 or [email protected]