This the first time in five years that "Idol" has not commanded the highest price for a 30-second ad in Ad Age's study. "Sunday Night Football" charges $550,000 per 30-second spot versus $500,000 for Idol, according to Ad Age. (See graphic.)
Last year, "Sunday Night Football" shared the top spot with "Idol."
In calculating this year's list, Ad Age took average commercial ad rates for each show into account. Special programming such as the Olympics, bowl games and awards shows were not taken into consideration.
The good news for "American Idol" is that, while it no longer sits at the top of the heap, it occupies two spots in the Top 5, with the Wednesday broadcast taking the No. 2 position and its Thursday broadcast hanging in at No. 5.
The Top 5 is rounded out by the ABC comedy "Modern Family" in third place and Fox's comedy "New Girl" in fourth place. (Of Ad Age's Top 10, seven of the positions are held by comedies.)
