In fact, when the Olympics went head to head with Idol in the 9 p.m. hour, the Games charmed an even larger audience of 30.1 million.

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Though Idol shed another 9% of its viewership and was out-rated by reality rival Dancing with the Stars on more than one occasion last season, it remains the no. 1 program by a sizable margin heading into its tenth year on the air.

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