'American Idol’ 2010 Hits Ratings Low

“American Idol” wrapped up its eighth season Wednesday night with its lowest-rated finale ever.

Last night’s two-hour results show averaged a 10.0 rating among adults 18-49 from 8-10:07 p.m., according to time-zone-adjusted Fast National numbers from Nielsen Media Research. The show drew 28.8 million viewers, beating only the audience from season one.

“Idol’s” finale, in which Kris Allen upset favorite Adam Lambert to take the crown, posted a 13% decrease from its live-plus-same-day performance in the demo last year, along with a 9% drop in total viewers.

This year’s results portion of the finale climbed 16% over its Tuesday night performance show, a similar difference to last year’s night-to-night climb leading to the finale (+14%).

The year-to-year drops are not a surprise, given the overall declines in primetime ratings and the show’s age. “American Idol,” however, has outperformed TV’s No. 2 show, ABC’s “Desperate Housewives,” by a 72% margin, its widest difference ever.

“Idol” also helped Fox claim its fifth consecutive season as the No. 1 network among adults 18-49.