‘Bachelorette:’ Ratings heaven

The fairy-tale finale of the unscripted series “The Bachelorette” scored a happy ending Wednesday for ABC with huge ratings.

An average of more than 20 million viewers tuned into the two-hour episode, according to Nielsen Media Research estimates. The audience increased by about 4 million during the last half-hour, when Trista Rehn chose fireman Ryan Sutter over investment banker Charlie Maher.

But those ratings fell far short of the blockbuster numbers scored by the finale of Fox’s unscripted “Joe Millionaire” on Monday. That episode averaged 35 million viewers and became the most-watched entertainment telecast in Fox’s history and on any network -- excluding sports -- since last year’s Academy Awards.

Greg Braxton