AT&T reported that more than 78 million text messages crossed its network as fans
interacted with American Idol -- the highest
total for any season and more than double the 78 million messages
AT&T reported last year.
97 million votes were cast last Tuesday night. From that 97 million, were the 78 million generated from text messages through votes, trivia contests, and other SMS content.
Text message traffic
counted in the tally includes not only text votes but also other ways
fans interact with the show via text, such as answering weekly trivia
questions, opting in to receive voting number reminders, submitting
questions to AT&T-hosted chat sessions with outgoing contestants,
and participating in AT&T's sweepstakes.
More than twice as many AT&T customers played weekly Idol Trivia via text this season versus last.
The number of AT&T customers who opted in to receive voting number
reminders--a weekly text message listing all of the IDOLs and their
voting numbers--was 70 percent higher than last season; fans who opted
in for vote number reminders this season sent nearly twice as many text
votes than did the overall voting population.
IDOL contestants lit up AT&T's ringtone leaderboard this year. At
one point during the week of May 10, AMERICAN IDOL tones comprised 15
of the top 100 ringtones.
The
AT&T $1,000,000 Idol Sweepstakes was also a hit with IDOL fans.
Kori Hoesel from Friendswood, Texas, received the grand prize--a trip to
attend AMERICAN IDOL Finale festivities with her daughter and the
opportunity to take home a cash prize up to $1 million. At the Finale
festivities, Hoesel was presented with a choice of Samsung Propel
phones from former IDOL contestants Carly Smithson, Kimberley Locke,
Chikezie Eze, Chris Richardson, Melinda Doolittle, Diana DeGarmo,
LaKisha Jones, Paris Bennett, Bo Bice, Hayley Scarnato, Vonzell
Solomon, Blake Lewis and Mikalah Gordon. The Samsung Propel is one of
the full-keyboard phones in AT&T's top-selling line of quick
messaging phones designed with texters in mind. Each phone had been
assigned a cash value, and Hoesel took home $50,000 as a result of her
pick. More than 191,000 AT&T customers entered the sweepstakes.