The LOST season finale was a ratings heavyweight, and actually managed to take a little swagger from American Idol’s step. While not coming anywhere near the estimated 30-plus million that tuned in for Idol’s finale, LOST seems to have prevented the ‘talent’ show from reaching its usual apex. As for the question of how many people came back to LOST to see the series off, somewhere in the neighborhood of two to three million additional viewers tuned in for the critically lauded finale.
LOST was able to hold a respectable 7.3/11 against a 19.1/30 for Idol to hold second place for the 9:00pm portion of its finale. Not bad considering some analysts in looking at LOST’s trends this season, had predicated that LOST would sink to single digits against Idol. The fact that LOST remained close to its 10:00pm average for the season against Idol’s finale bodes well for fans who are hoping that LOST will return to its 9:00pm time slot next season.
For the time being that slot belongs to the Grey’s Anatomy spin off, Private Practice. Competitors for 9:00pm include NBC’s Science Fiction venture Bionic Woman, which re-imagines the classic 70’s series of the same name, and CBS’s Criminal Minds. A mix of genres that should make the time slot a very interesting battleground.
The second half of LOST’s finale brought in close to fifteen million viewers. First run episodes of LOST in its native 10pm slot have produced an additional two to four million DVR viewers since the series moved to the later slot, that data is not yet available.
There is still no official word on when a time slot for LOST will be announced. Since the show is essentially a mid-season series at this point, the announcement could come later than sooner.
– Jon Lachonis, BuddyTV Senior Writer
– Ratings data from zap2it.com
– Image Copyright © 2007 ABC
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
