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XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX THU MAY 22, 2003 10:04:25 ET XXXXX CALLS FOR AUDIT HIT 'IDOL': CONTEST QUESTIONED AFTER DIFFERENT VOTE TALLY; FOX TO LAUNCH REVIEW **Exclusive** On air last night AMERICAN IDOL host Ryan Seacrest claimed only 1,335 out of 24 million phone-votes separated the two singing finalists, resulting in a dramatic Florida election-style ending to the series. Or was it really 130,000 votes, not the numbers quoted on the air! One thing is clear, one out of three televisions in the nation tuned in to the broadcast, which originated live from Universal City. But now serious questions are being raised about the integrity of the final IDOL vote, and the entire franchise may be at risk. MORE "Listen, I've been around Hollywood for a long, long time, and this reeks of a contrived, phony ending," a top executive from a rival network charged Thursday morning. "No one here believes for one second the votes landed just 1,300 apart. It's a disgrace... in fact, I think we are looking at a modern day version of the $64,000 question!" MORE The network president, who demanded anonymity, suggests an outside audit be performed on the IDOL showdown, but he stopped short of calling for an official state or federal criminal probe. "Listen, we all get hurt when the viewer is misled, or tricked, I really think FOX, [the show's producers] 19 TV and even AT&T should open up the process, not hide behind secrecy or the complexity of counting so many votes over different time zones... Who or what told them this? A computer? Was there any human review? I know how this works, and I just do not think the truth is being told here... "If this show is going to return next season with any integrity, whatsoever, I think there needs to be a top to bottom review of the [voting] process," the rival network executive said. MORE IDOL host Seacrest added to the confusion by announcing conflicting margins and votes throughout the evening. Seacrest moved from a 1,335 vote difference to a 50.28 per cent score for winner Ruben Studdard, putting him at about 134,000 votes ahead of Clay Aiken. Seacrest announced a 13,000 vote difference in the first hour of the program, 1,335 votes when he revealed the decision. Finally, after the show, producers revealed a 134,000 margin! News organizations on the morning after the night before were quoting various final totals. FOX will launch an internal review of what led to the voter tally confusion, a FOX source told the DRUDGE REPORT. "As far as we are concerned, the votes are not in dispute," said the insider. "We are looking at how the bad math got on the air." Officially, Scott Grogin, Vice President of Corporate Communications for FOX Broadcasting tells DRUDGE: "The host simply read incorrect information on a live broadcast." MORE But what a night it was for FOX, according to NIELSEN overnights. IDOL turned in a 24.3 rating/33 share in its final 30 minutes, in 55 metered markets: maxing with a 30 share in New York City; 33 share Los Angeles; 34 Philly; 38 San Fran; 37 Miami; 41 D.C.; 49 Atlanta. Developing... ----------------------------------------------------------- Filed By Matt Drudge Reports are moved when circumstances warrant http://www.drudgereportArchives.com for updates (c)DRUDGE REPORT 2003 Not for reproduction without permission of the author |
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