Online momentum for the finale of the TV hit "American Idol" built in the last few weeks.

While Fox's TV ratings phenomenon, "American Idol," has dominated its timeslot and grabbed the lion's share of television viewers, it has also established itself as a powerful entity through other forms of media. As viewers wield the power to select the eventual winner, live voting via phones and text messaging has helped immerse fans into the Idol experience. Engaged fans have also utilized the internet to stay abreast of the competition and view Idol's rich media offerings. With this season's competition winding up last night, fans were visiting the Idol website in droves leading up to the finale.

• During the week ending May 14, 2006, 3.5 million people visited AmericanIdol.com, the highest total for the season. Site traffic spiked at the start of the season with 1.4 million visitors during the week ending January 22, and reached another crescendo the week ending February 26 (which marked the beginning of fan voting) with 3.4 million visitors.
  
  
• Perhaps surprisingly, teens and young adults are not driving the bulk of the traffic to AmericanIdol.com. Adults between the ages of 25 and 54 show an above average inclination to visit the site, with adults 35 to 44 showing the highest tendency (35 percent more likely than average).
  
  
• Site visitors also exhibit skews by household income. In general, visitation increases with higher household incomes. Those making at least $75,000 are 14 percent more likely than average to visit the site.
  
  
• Visitation to AmericanIdol.com also exhibits regional skews. People in the New England region are 57 percent more likely than average to visit the site, while those in East South Central are 18 percent more likely to do so.

WEEKLY VISITATION TO AMERICANIDOL.COM

*Composition Index represents the proportion of the given group within a specific site audience, compared to the proportion of that group in the total online population. A composition index of 100 represents parity.

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