Beyond the Numbers

‘Dancing,’ ‘Idol’ finales quieter

The news behind the ratings

-Idol fades out. Fox’s American Idol wrapped up Wednesday with 21.5 million viewers, down a sharp 27% from last spring’s exit but consistent with season-long losses that bumped it to second place behind NBC’s Sunday Night Football.

-Dancing dip. ABC’s Dancing With the Stars won 17.8 million viewers for Tuesday’s mirrorball trophy award, down 17% from last spring’s finale.

-S-mmer duel. Both Idol and Dancing were quickly replaced by far weaker headto-head competitions: ABC’s Duets opened Thursday with 6.8 million viewers against the return of Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance (6.3 million), though Dance had a 40% advantage among young adults. And Monday, the season opener of NBC’s American Ninja Warrior (6.2 million) matched Dance’s young-viewer haul.

-Hats off. The series finale of Fox’s House drew 8.7 million viewers Monday, its biggest turnout since January; ditto ABC’s season finale of Revenge (7.9 million Wednesday). And Glee’s graduation (7.5 million Tuesday) marked a threemonth high. But NBC’s holidayweekend series finale of Harry’s Law sunk to a worst-yet 5.9 million Sunday.

-S-mmer openers. ABC’s Rookie Blue (6.1 million viewers) and TBS comedy Men at Work (an OK 2.6 million, both Thursday); Animal Planet’s Mermaids: The Body Found (2 million Sunday); MTV2’s Hip Hop Squares (329,000 Tuesday). The season finale of A&E’s Duck Dynasty caught a series-high 2.6 million Wednesday.

-Season totals. CBS won its fourth consecutive season in total viewers, while Fox won its eighth straight season among young-adult viewers. And NBC narrowly edged ABC for third place among younger viewers.