American Idol's season finale notched up its highest voting numbers ever and broke worldwide reality TV records in the first year it has allowed online voting via a deal with Facebook.
The Fox show notched up some 122.4 million votes for the season 10 finale, while a total of 730 million votes were cast over the course of the season, according to XIX Entertainment, the artist management company owned by Idol creator Simon Fuller.
Although the firm did not break down voting figures, viewers were able to back contestants by phoning in, texting or going online at AmericanIdol.com - provided they also had a Facebook account.
The season finale notched up 29 million viewers - the biggest US TV audience this year for an entertainment show.
The news comes as shareholders try to block the sale of CKX, the parent company of American Idol producer 19 Entertainment, which Fuller set up.
Earlier this month, CKX agreed to be acquired by private equity firm Apollo Global Management for US$509m. However, at least three investors in the company have this week filed lawsuits against CKX's owners, claiming that the deal undervalues the firm.
The US$5.50 per share offer marked a 40% premium over CKX's average closing price over the past six months. However, the shareholders pointed out that the company's shares traded at US$5.30 as recently as October 2010 and claimed the deal offers "practically no premium."
Andrew McDonald
27 May 2011
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