The Ten Network has announced given the strong ratings of the grand final Australian Idol, the show will be back for another season in 2010.
Just under 1.5 million viewers tuned in across Australia to watch soul singer Stan Walker triumph over rock chic Hayley Warner to become the seventh Australian Idol winner on Sunday night.
The grand final show was a ratings success with the audience peaking at 1.7 million, similar to the figures of the grand final show last year.
Although down from the peak of the show’s popularity in 2003 and 2004 when the finals pulled in over three million viewers, it was still a strong result for the Ten Network, with a spokeswoman for the network saying that it will be back next year.
The spokeswoman said that it continued to deliver good audiences in the demographics most sought after by advertisers.
However, given the Delhi Commonwealth Games scheduled for October next year, the network was still working through plans for the 2010 season of Australian Idol.
The strong audience surprised even Ten, and follows a tough year for the show which suffered an audience drop, new timeslot, presenter changes and the sacking of popular host Kyle Sandilands.
She show has secured big names and mentors such as Good Charlotte twins Benji and Joel Madden, Liza Minelli and Suzi Quatro, however failed to bring in huge audiences, leaving many questioning whether the show had run out of steam.
Sunday night’s grand final at the Sydney Opera House featured fireworks and performances from the likes of Mika and Michael Buble.