MUMBAI: More than eight million viewers in the surveyed markets of Singapore, Mega Manila and India tuned in to American Idol on Star World during its run.

In Singapore, the star search reality show consistently pushed Star World ahead of other cable channels during its primetime broadcasts. (Source: TNS Singapore peoplemeter; 19 January 31 May 2005).

In the last two weeks of May, Star World topped all other cable channels during the primetime broadcast of American Idol. On 18 and 25 May, the channel hit a sensational 8.5 per cent of channel share for all cable viewers from 8 pm to 9 pm.

In addition, Star world garnered overwhelming viewer participation with its SMS voting and quiz contests, Asia Votes and Trivia Quiz. Drawn from hundreds of thousands of voters in Hong Kong, Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, six lucky winners won the grand prize of flying to Los Angeles, US to watch the American Idol finale live.

Star senior vice president programming Ross Crowley said, "American Idol has clearly become another must-see annual event on Star World. The Asia Votes, Trivia Quiz and sending our viewers to watch the finale live in LA have all contributed to making this season an incredibly compelling and rewarding experience for our viewers. This success will be followed by even more exciting reality, drama and comedy programming on Star World."

This year, American Idol garnered a record number of votes in the US for its contestants and saw the highest viewer numbers ever. Country smash Carrie Underwood won the title by a small margin, but with a single coming out soon, runner-up rocker Bo Bices popularity proves our Asian audiences love of rock.

In keeping with the rock theme, Star World viewers will be truly primed for a global musical showdown with the launch of Rock Star: INXS on in July. One of the most ambitious reality shows ever conceived, this Mark Burnett (Survivor, The Apprentice) creation will soon come live and exclusive to Star World.