‘American Idol’ Hits Season Viewership High for ABC With Week 3 Auditions (Exclusive)

The third week of “American Idol” auditions has hit a new season high in total viewers, TheWrap can reveal exclusively.

As judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie narrowed down the top musicians for the unscripted series’ 21st season, the March 5 episode drew in 7.0 million total viewers, according to Nielsen live plus seven-day figures, marking a 6% uptick in total viewers as compared to the prior week’s episode, which brought in 6.6 million total viewers.

With the added bump from digital viewing, the “American Idol” episode received 8.1 million total viewers and scored a 1.37 rating in the key demographic among adults 18-49 after seven days of viewing across linear and digital platforms.

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In the demo, the March 5 episode received a 0.9/8 share among adults 18-49 in linear live plus seven-day viewing, crowning the series as Sunday’s No. 1 program in the demo for the second consecutive week.

The two hour telecast of “American Idol” blew out the competition in the demo with a 50% win over CBS, which earned a 0.6/6 share through its airing of “60 Minutes” and “The Equalizer,” a 80% win over Fox, which received a 0.5/4 share for “Family Guy,” and a 125% lead over NBC, whose airing of “Magnum P.I.” drew in a 0.4/4 share.

After ABC’s airing of the 95th Academy Awards received 18.8 total viewers Sunday, the 2023 Oscars saw a 13% uptick in viewership from the 2022 ceremony that brought in 16.7 million viewers, according to live plus same-day Nielsen figures.

“American Idol” airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.

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