13.3 million watch final ‘American Idol’
NEW YORK (AP) — An estimated 13.3 million people caught glimpses of Simon Cowell, Carrie Underwood, Paula Abdul and other stars of “American Idol” on the show’s apparent finale, its biggest audience in two years.
In an all-Mississippi contest Thursday night, Trent Harmon beat La’Porsha Renae to become the 15th idol. At its peak in 2006, “American Idol” averaged 30 million viewers a season and dominated popular culture.
It was television’s most popular program for nine straight seasons before fading in recent years.
Still, its average of 11.1 million viewers this season was enough to regularly place it among the Nielsen company’s top 20 shows most weeks. It was the series’ most-watched episode since February 2014 and well above last season’s finale, which had eight million viewers.