ABC’s ‘American Idol’ Debuts Solid Ratings

ABC’s revival of “American Idol” was easily the top show of Sunday night according to Variety citing Nielsen overnight data, even if it did not top Fox’s version of the show.

Airing at 8 p.m. on ABC, “American Idol” drew a 2.3 rating in adults 18-49 ad 10.3 million viewers.

For context, the final Fox season premiere of “American Idol” in 2016 drew a 3.0 rating and 10.96 million viewers, meaning the ABC premiere was down approximately 23% in the demo and 6% in total viewers from the last Fox season.

However, the ABC premiere is on par with the average ratings of the last Fox season, with the final season’s Wednesday show averaging a 2.3 and 9.4 million viewers and the Thursday show averaging a 2.2 and 9.1 million viewers in Live+Same Day. ABC’s version also helped the network deliver its most-watched Sunday night in over five years.

On Fox, the first ever airing of the 2006 special “O.J. Simpson: The Lost Confession?” drew a 1.2 and 4.4 million viewers.