Ratings: ‘Idol’ Easily Beats Olympics

With just a few nights left, Vancouver Games still tracking ahead of 2006

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"American Idol" once again had no problem beating the Olympics Wednesday.

The Fox competition series averaged an 8.6 rating/23 share and 22.8 million viewers, easily beating NBC’s coverage of the Vancouver Games for the second consecutive night. The Olympics averaged a 5.2/4 in the demo and 19.4 million viewers.

"Idol" was up 23 percent vs. last Wednesday’s Hollywood week non-performance show. The Olympics, neanwhile, were down 42 percent in the demo vs. last week.

Overall, the Olympics are still tracking 6 percent ahead of 2006 in the demo and 20 percent among all viewers.