Audience grows for ‘American Idol’ finale

Carrie Underwood said winning “American Idol” was “the best night of my life” – and she had an estimated 29.4 million witnesses.

The preliminary audience estimate for Wednesday night’s finale of the Fox talent competition show was up slightly from the 28.8 million who watched Fantasia Barrino take the “American Idol” crown last year.

Viewership this season didn’t suffer from a former contestant’s claims that he had an affair with judge Paula Abdul. “American Idol” is the No. 1 series for the season in total viewers (as opposed to total households), averaging 27.3 million viewers a week.

The finale, on the last day of the TV season, guaranteed Fox a first-ever season ratings win among viewers age 18 to 49.

‘Nightline’ to tally war dead

ABC News’ “Nightline,” which sparked controversy last year with a broadcast reading the names of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, plans to do so again next week.

The late-night newscast’s Memorial Day broadcast Monday will be devoted entirely to reading the names and showing photos of the 900-plus service members who died in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past year. The show, titled ‘The Fallen,’ will be extended from 30 to roughly 45 minutes to allow all the names to be read.

The announcement so far has not brought the controversy it did last year, when Sinclair Broadcast Group, the largest owner of TV stations in the country and known for its rightward lean, ordered its eight ABC affiliates not to air the broadcast.

At the time, a Sinclair spokesman said the “Nightline” tribute “appears to be motivated by a political agenda designed to undermine the efforts of the United States in Iraq.”

Another ‘Gilmore’ go-round

Citing “popular demand from viewers,” The WB says it will re-air the finale of “Gilmore Girls” at 9 p.m. on Tuesday, preceded by the season’s next-to-last episode.

The demand came about because the finale, first broadcast May 17, ran 27 seconds over its normal hour. That last half-minute contained a crucial cliffhanger scene, which was teased in promos for the episode, and fans whose VCRs or digital recorders stopped recording at exactly 9 p.m. were left hanging.