Even a ‘Fallen Idol’ draws big ratings

Dueling celebrity scandals filled the May sweep airwaves Wednesday night, and when the dust settled it was clear that viewers were far more curious about the alleged indiscretions of Paula Abdul than the admitted transgressions of Pat O’Brien.

ABC generated impressive numbers with a special edition of the newsmagazine “Primetime Live: Fallen Idol,” which featured Corey Clark, a former “American Idol” contestant who claimed he had an affair with Abdul, one of the show’s three judges. An average of 13.7 million viewers tuned in, according to Nielsen Media Research, nearly twice as many as “Primetime” has averaged in its regular Thursday slot.

Among young adults, “Fallen Idol” was the highest-rated newsmagazine since NBC’s special “Dateline” that aired before the “Friends” series finale last May. “Primetime” also took a heavy toll on its rivals in the 10 p.m. slot, CBS’ “CSI: New York” and NBC’s “Law & Order,” both of which saw double-digit declines from their season averages.

ABC appears to have been successful in wooing the “Idol” audience that already was tuned to Fox on Wednesday night. Fox’s 9 p.m. results show ran half an hour and drew 25.4 million viewers, who watched Scott Savol voted off, leaving four remaining contestants.

The “Primetime” episode “just shows the amazing coattails [‘Idol’] has,” said Brad Adgate, director of research for Horizon Media in New York. “It transcends networks.”

Fox, which earlier this week released a statement questioning Clark’s motives, attacked ABC News directly Thursday morning. “We have concerns about the motives behind last night’s purported news special, as much of it was filled with rumor, speculation and assertions from a disqualified contestant who admitted during the special to telling lies,” the network and “Idol” producers said in a joint statement.

“Regardless, we are absolutely committed to the fairness of this competition,” the statement added. “We take any accusations of this nature very seriously, no matter their source, and we have already begun looking into them.”

At least part of the reason for Fox’s pique: Thanks to “Fallen Idol,” ABC finished an unexpectedly close second to Fox among young adults Wednesday.

CBS had far less luck with its own special look at tales of celebrity bad behavior. At 8 p.m., “A Dr. Phil Primetime Special: Behind the Headlines” featured the syndicated host confronting “The Insider” host Pat O’Brien. O’Brien used the occasion to explain how a weekend of debauchery and embarrassingly explicit answering-machine messages resulted in his recent alcohol rehab treatment.

The 7.4 million viewers who tuned in represented a far smaller audience than those for two previous Dr. Phil specials on CBS, and the program was easily beaten by ABC’s drama “Lost” (17.2 million viewers). That was particularly bad news for CBS, which is battling ABC for second place this season in the critical 18- to 49-year-old demographic. Thanks in large part to “Idol,” Fox retains a comfortable lead in that race.