ABC Wins Monday Night as 'American Idol' Dominates With Best Audience Since Season Premiere

Show Earns 5.52 Million Total Viewers - Ranking No. 1 on a Competitive Night

Vaults Over Premiere of NBC's "The Voice" by 44% in Total Viewers With Largest Margin of Victory Ever During Its ABC Tenure

· "American Idol" dominated Monday night earning 5.52 Million Total Viewers and 0.45 rating among Adults 18-49 in Live+Same Day ratings, with its best Total Viewer audience since season premiere (6.22 million on 1/26/26).

· Bolting out of audition rounds into Hollywood Week, the show rose over the previous week by +16% in Total Viewers (vs. 4.75 million) and +10% among Adults 18-49 (vs. 0.41rating) and was up +27% in Total Viewers over last season's Hollywood Week kickoff episode (4.36 million on Mon. 3/31/25).

· "American Idol" (8-10 p.m.) ranked as the No. 1 program for the night, towering over NBC's season premiere of "The Voice" (9-11 p.m.) by double digits in Total Viewers (+44% - 5.52 million vs. 3.84 million) and Adults 18-49 (+45% - 0.45 rating vs. 0.31 rating).

· In fact, "American Idol" scored its largest margin of victory ever in Total Viewers over "The Voice" during its nine-season run on ABC.

· On a competitive night that also included NBC's series premiere of "The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins" and CBS's series debut of "CIA," "American Idol"'s strong performance lifted ABC to a win for the night on broadcast and cable in Total Viewers (4.63 million).

Source: Nielsen National Live+Same Day Big Data Plus Panel Program Ratings for 2/23/26