Primetime Ratings: One Hour of American Idol Still Enough for Fox
ABC, CBS in Close Battle for Second Place
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 2/22/2008 8:17:00 AM
American Idol aired; Fox won. That is the continuing network primetime story line as the network continues to rack up victories.
Fox only averaged a 6.6 rating/16 share on the night in the 18-49 demo, but it only aired one hour of Idol versus the two-hour shows it has been airing leading up to Hollywood and this, its first vote-off show (8.4/21) for the final 24.
It was a close race for second place in the demo, however, between ABC (3.4/8) and CBS (3.3/5), with the caveat that those numbers could change slightly when the final national numbers come in.
ABC scored with a new episode of Lost, which averaged a 4.8/11 from 9 p.m.-10 p.m. CBS' big ratings-earner was Survivor, which averaged a 4/10 from 8 p.m.-9 p.m. up against Idol, one of the stronger showings against that juggernaut.
NBC was fourth with a 2.5/6 led by Celebrity Apprentice, which averaged a 3.2/8 from 8 p.m.-9 p.m. up against Lost.
The CW averaged a 1.2/3 led by a new episode of Supernatural with a 1.3/3 from 9 p.m.-10 p.m.
