Grammy viewing almost half of American Idol

[shutdown]

NEW YORK (AP) -- Some humbling news for the pros: By a wide margin, TV viewers prefer the amateurs.

Nearly twice as many people watched "American Idol" than the Grammy Awards Wednesday when the two music programs went head-to-head in prime time, according to preliminary estimates by Nielsen Media Research.

The "Idol" audience on Fox was 28.3 million while the Grammy Awards were being watched by 15.1 million people from 8 to 9 p.m. EST, Nielsen said.

Within that hour, featured performers on "music's biggest night" included Madonna, John Legend, Coldplay and U2. The Irish rockers were the big Grammy winners, earning album of the year and song of the year for "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own."

After "Idol" went off the air, the Grammys picked up a little steam. Overall, from 8 to 11 p.m., the show averaged 17.6 million viewers. The final viewership figure for the show, which lasted until 11:30 p.m., was not immediately available, but was likely to be slightly lower than 17.6 million.

The least-watched Grammy telecast since Nielsen began keeping records was the 17.2 million who watched in 1995. Last year's show was seen by 18.8 million people, with 26.3 million viewers in 2004.

Former "American Idol" winner Kelly Clarkson won two Grammys, but didn't mention the Fox show in her tearful acceptance speeches.

The music pros can take a little comfort in at least slowing the "American Idol" momentum. It was the first time in seven telecasts this season that "Idol" was seen by fewer than 30 million people.

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

 

[mikeuk]

The consideration to be taken ibto account here, in respect of potential impact on Bomb's sales, is the extensive coverage (at least here in the UK) that U2's wins received in the media afterwards.

Mike

 

[powerhour24]

This makes me hate that damn show even more, why are there so many idiots in this country that would pass on the chance to see so many greats perform, to watch the 794358th week of trainwreck "auditions".

 

[04072511]

It strikes me as stupid that the music industry would put 2 big shows on at the same time. It would have benefited both of them if they were put on different nights. BOTH lost out, just the grammy's lost out by more.

I can't understand why the viewing rates are so high for American Idol in its 5th season. Surely the concept has grown old by now. Everyone knows that the winner is going to go nowhere once the show is over. Kelly Clarkson is an exception but most of the others have dissappeared quickly. (Mind you, I do like Kelly Clarkson, I think her music is great in all honesty).

 

[thelaj]

Fortunately, most people who would buy U2 are unlikely to watch American Idol...

 

[STING2]

Remember thought that American Idol is one of the most popular television shows out there and its unlikely anything could beat it.

Much of the people watching the Grammy awards are fans of the nominated artist. While thats a lot of people, its not nearly as much as the one of the top rated TV shows in America.