‘Idol’ and Clarkson Both Win

Fox’s “American Idol” finale was a clear hit on the rating charts, although a number of viewers are still smarting over the voting system, including an apparent independent scam perpetrated on some of those who called in to register their votes.

Ratings for Wednesday night indicate that 22.8 million people were watching the program at any given moment, based on Nielsen Media Research estimates. That exceeds the combined audience for NBC, ABC and CBS during those two hours.

Viewing steadily built over the evening, peaking at nearly 28 million in the last half-hour, which saw Kelly Clarkson emerge as the talent showcase’s winner over Justin Guarini.

Although far short of the nearly 52 million people who watched the concluding installment of the first “Survivor” two years ago, the audience represented the largest for any Fox telecast, other than sports, since an episode of “Malcolm in the Middle” in January 2000. Viewership was comparable to that for new episodes of such top-rated series as “Friends” or “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” an especially impressive feat in the summer, when overall TV viewing tends to be lower.

The program was hugely popular among young women and teenage girls, demographics in which the numbers of females tuning in exceeded their male counterparts by 50% or more.

Still, for all the benefits the show generated for Fox--among them providing a platform to promote its upcoming lineup of new series--glitches surrounding the voting system left a portion of fans feeling irked by the process.

Some viewers insist the outcome was manipulated, that they constantly reached a busy signal when calling and that so-called “power dialers”--people who used computers and automated systems to register thousands of votes for favorite contestants each week--skewed the results. The producers have said that practice was statistically insignificant, with Fox receiving more than 15 million calls in selecting the winner.

Several people on Web sites also reported calling the show’s toll-free number only to be directed to a 900 number that charged them $1.99 a call. According to Fox, those who heard that recording misdialed--punching in an 800 prefix instead of the 866 line established by the network. Fox says it had no affiliation with the other number, which the network believes to be a scheme to cash in on the show’s popularity.

“Someone figured out that people would misdial and [they] are trying to profit from it.... Of course the votes wouldn’t go through and you’d just lose your money ... how awful!” one viewer posted on msn.com.

Robert Blacher, an attorney who lives in Lake Worth, Fla., was among those who says he tried to call in and found himself referred to the 900 number. Even if Fox wasn’t involved, Blacher said, the network had a duty to alert viewers.

“As a matter of good citizenship, they should have warned people,” he said.

Executives at FremantleMedia, meanwhile, the British company responsible for the series as well as for previous editions overseas, are gearing up for the sequel. They said Thursday that auditions for the next “Idol” would be held in the fall, with plans to launch the show early next year.

A few changes are expected, including the possible addition of a fourth judge. Having already produced versions in Britain, Poland and South Africa, Fremantle will next take the series to Germany and Belgium.

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Times staff writer Paul Brownfield contributed to this story.