Incredibly, though the move was obviously some kind of ploy to pick up higher Nielsen numbers in the first minutes of the 10 o'clock hour, the network actually claimed the situation was out of their control, as if the tightly-plotted and heavily-padded two-hour show was some kind of sporting event:
"We're sorry that DVR users may have missed the conclusion of the American Idol broadcast. It was always our intention to bring the show in on time, but just as with any live sports, variety, awards or entertainment event, there is no way to absolutely guarantee that the show will end exactly on the hour. Fox and the producers apologize to those viewers who were inconvenienced."
Last season's finale ran four minutes long. The previous two also ran late.
TiVo also got complaints from subscribers, and also issued a statement that instructed viewers to "learn" from the experience. (Yeah, like programming your DVR to add ten minutes to every Fox show?).
By the way, Jordin Sparks won. And imagine how long the show would have gone if Paul McCartney had actually shown up (as he apparently would have if his one-legged ex-wife hadn't been in the audience).