For all of the talk about drooping American Idol ratings this season, Wednesday (May 21) night's final Wednesday results show, the coronation of David Cook, was up over last season's climax.

Airing from 8 p.m. til 10:06 p.m. (much to the chagrin of many DVR users), Wednesday's Idol Finale averaged 31.7 million viewers, according to final live plus same day Nielsen data. That's up three percent over the 30.8 million viewers who watched Jordin Sparks beat Blake Lewis last season.

While many a story has been written about American Idol skewing old this season -- despite the presence of 17-year-old David Archuleta in the finale -- the season's last episode delivered an 11.4 rating in the coveted 18-49 demographic, down only slightly from last season's 11.5 demo rating.

The Idol finale reached the season's most viewers since the premiere and delivered the highest Wednesday 18-49 tally since the Wednesday premiere back on Jan. 16.