or


[01/18/06 - 12:00 AM]
5th Season Launch of American Idol Delivers Highest Premiere Ratings Ever

[via press release from FOX]

5th Season Launch of American Idol Delivers Highest Premiere Ratings Ever

Idol is #1 Entertainment Program of 2005-2006 Season Over 55.3 Million Viewers Tune in to First Episode

Los Angeles, Jan. 18, 2006 - Last night, the 5th season kickoff of AMERICAN IDOL delivered it�s best premiere ratings ever among Adults 18-49 (15.3/34), Adults 18-34 (14.7/36) and Total Viewers (35.5 Mil).

Compared to last year�s premiere (on 1/18/05), AMERICAN IDOL is up +9% among Adults 18-49 (15.3/34 vs. 14.0/33), +3% among Adults 18-34 (14.7/36 vs. 14.3/37) and +6% in Total Viewers (35.5 vs. 33.6 Mil). According to Nielsen's "FAST TA� (Total Audience) figures, over 55.3 million viewers watched all or part of the American Idol Season 5 premiere on FOX.

The premiere of AMERICAN IDOL gave FOX its highest rated night EVER with entertainment programming among Total Viewers and its second highest rated night among Adults 18-49 (behind only the Joe Millionaire finale on 2/17/03). In addition, last night�s AMERICAN IDOL was the most-watched entertainment program of the 2005-2006 season to date.

Peter Liguori, President of Entertainment for Fox Broadcasting was obviously impressed. �To say we are surprised and pleased by last night's numbers would be a major understatement,� said Liguori. �The fact that AMERICAN IDOL is seeing its biggest premiere numbers ever -- especially considering it�s in its fifth season -- is nothing less than astounding. Everyone at FOX is incredibly proud of this success and we want to congratulate the entire production team, Ryan, Paula, Randy and Simon on yet another amazing performance. We look forward to another strong night tonight with another episode of �American Idol� and the premiere of Skating with Celebrities."

AMERICAN IDOL also delivered its second highest rated telecast EVER among Adults 18-49, Adults 18-34 and Total Viewers, behind only the American Idol season 2 finale on 5/21/03. Additionally, last night the season premiere of AMERICAN IDOL outperformed the combined 5-network competition on a total primetime basis by an incredible +26% among Adults 18-49 (15.3 vs. 12.1), +43% among Adults 18-34 (14.7 vs. 10.3), +108% among Teens (13.7 vs. 6.6) and the combined 3-network competition by +15% in Total Viewers (35.5 vs. 31.0 Mil).

Last night�s AMERICAN IDOL premiere is the highest rated primetime program of the 05/06 season (including entertainment and sports programming) among Adults 18-49, Adults 18-34 and Teens. It�s the highest rated prime entertainment telecast on any network in over a year and a half (since the Friends series finale on 5/6/04) among Adults 18-49 and Adults 18-34.





  [january 2006]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S


· AMERICAN IDOL (ABC)





most recent ratings | view all posts
[09/15/25 - 11:45 AM]
The "77th Emmy Awards" Delivers Its Largest Television Audience Since 2021, Up +8% from Last Year
Hosted by Nate Bargatze, the telecast was seen by more than 7.42 million viewers on the CBS Television Network and streaming on Paramount+.

[09/12/25 - 02:43 PM]
"The Groomsmen: First Look" Launches Hallmark Channel's "Fall Into Love" Seasonal Stunt with Chart-Topping Ratings
The film was the #1 most-watched entertainment cable program on Saturday among Households, Women 18+, Persons 18+, and Total Viewers.

[09/12/25 - 05:31 AM]
ESPN Networks Deliver Most-Watched WNBA Regular Season Ever
ESPN networks aired eight of the top 10 most-watched WNBA games during the 2025 season, highlighted by its most-watched WNBA game ever - 2.7 million viewers for Chicago Sky at Indiana Fever on May 17 (ABC).

[09/10/25 - 02:09 PM]
ESPN Delivers Most Viewed Tennis Telecast of the Year and Most Viewed US Open Since 2022
The Men's Championship averaged 3 million viewers on ABC, up 82% vs. 2024 while the Women's Championship averaged 2.4 million on ESPN, up 50% vs. 2024.

[09/09/25 - 03:43 PM]
On Pace for Record Year, ESPN Formula 1 Viewership Earns 10th Event High of '25 Season
F1 races are averaging 1.4M viewers this season across ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC, ahead of the all-time series record average of 1.21M that was set in 2022.

[09/09/25 - 03:29 PM]
ABC Scores Three of the Top Four Best Audiences of College Football's Week 2; "College GameDay" Delivers Second Most-Watched Regular Season Show on Record
Michigan/Oklahoma (9.7 million viewers) was ABC's most-viewed Week 2 game since 2006.

[09/09/25 - 03:17 PM]
FOX's "Big Noon Saturday" & "Big Noon Kickoff" Up Big Through Week 2
Iowa-Iowa State scored 4,278,000 viewers on FOX, most-watched game in the noon window.

[09/09/25 - 02:26 PM]
NBC Sports Posts Largest Two-Game NFL Kickoff Weekend Audience in a Decade & Second Best All-Time, Averaging 26.5 Million Viewers Across NBC & Peacock
NBC's 2025 NFL Kickoff Weekend average viewership trailed only 2015, as Steelers-Patriots in NFL Kickoff '15 and Cowboys-Giants in the Sunday night opener averaged 27.2 million viewers.

[09/09/25 - 02:01 PM]
FOX NFL Delivers Most-Watched Week 1 NFL Singleheader on Any Network Since 2015
17.9 million viewers tuned in to watch Sunday's FOX NFL singleheader - the most-watched Week 1 NFL singleheader on any network since 2015.

[09/09/25 - 01:43 PM]
"20/20" Ranks No. 1 Across the Board for Friday, Sept. 5
Airing against NFL competition on YouTube and U.S. Open Tennis on ESPN, "20/20" turned in its strongest Adults 25-54 performance since June and best Total Viewer and Adults 18-49 numbers since July.

[09/09/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of September 1: "Wednesday" Season 2 Does the Dead Dance to No. 1 in Top 10
"My Life with the Walter Boys" collectively brought in another 10.9 million views, putting the series at No. 2 on the English TV list.

[09/09/25 - 07:00 AM]
TLC's "90 Day: Hunt for Love" Draws Over 11.6M Viewers Across Platforms
The series emerged as one of the network's most-watched new titles of the year and currently ranks as the #2 freshman series on cable in 2025 to date among P/W25-54.

[09/08/25 - 02:45 PM]
The "2025 MTV Video Music Awards" Delivers Its Largest Television Audience Since 2019, Up +42% from Last Year
The telecast was seen by more than 5.5 million viewers on the CBS Television Network, simulcast on MTV and streaming on Paramount+.

[09/08/25 - 09:40 AM]
Cowboys-Eagles on NBC & Peacock Is 2nd Most-Watched NFL Kickoff Game
The exciting back-and-forth put the Eagles ahead 21-20 at halftime and averaged 34.3 million viewers on NBC and Peacock from 9:30-9:45 p.m. ET (late second quarter) - marking the largest peak audience ever for an NFL Kickoff Game.

[09/05/25 - 09:01 AM]
ESPN Networks Command Historic Viewership with Second Most-Watched Labor Day Weekend in at Least 30 Years
From Saturday, August 30 through Monday, September 1, fans consumed 16.8 billion minutes across ABC, ESPN and ESPN2, up 25 percent year-over-year.