Primetime Ratings: 'Idol' Finale Draws 29.3M Viewers, Up 12% in Key Demo From Last Year as Fox Dominates Wednesday

Fox cruised to a Wednesday night ratings victory with an overall 8.9 rating/25 share in the 18-49 demo. The two-hour American Idol season ender - which ran until 10:07 p.m. - drew a 9.2 rating, up 12% from last season's finale. The tenth-season finale was up 21% in total viewers to 29.3 million (38.6 million watched from 10-10:07 p.m., when the winner was being crowned). This was the first time in five years that Idol showed year-to-year growth in the 18-49 demo.

ABC finished
in second with a 2.3/6, and aired season finales across the board. The
Middle ended its second season with a 2.2, down 8% from last week. Modern
Family's finale scored a 4.1, even with last week and Cougar Town
had a 2.0 in its hour-long finale, even with last week's half-hour episode. Happy
Endings was the only show to improve, rising 31% from last week during the
10:30 slot.

CBS, which
placed third with a 1.7/5, saw the final episode of Criminal Minds:
Suspect Behavior draw another 2.0, even with last week.

NBC drew a 1.2/3. It
aired a special Law and Order: Los Angeles at 10 p.m. for a 1.4, up a
tenth from its Monday showing.

The CW aired all
repeats for a 0.4/1.