Primetime Ratings: New Amsterdam Fails to Keep Idol Audience
Fox Wins Thursday Night but New Drama Slips
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 3/7/2008 7:15:00 AM
Fox won the primetime Nielsen Media Research ratings in the 18-49 demo with a 6.5/16. American Idol dominated (the only news would be if it didn't), but new drama New Amsterdam showed some major slippage.
Inheriting a 9.3 rating/24 share lead-in audience from Idol, New Amsterdam -- about a detective fascinated with investigating deaths because he can't die himself -- averaged a 4.2/10 in its first half-hour but dropped to a 3.1/7 in its second. Its average for the time period, 3.6/9, was still good enough for second place.
ABC was second on the night with a 3.3/8 thanks to Lost, which won its time period with a 5.4/13 from 9 p.m.-10 p.m., although a repeat of Lost that preceded it managed only a 1.8/5. ABC did manage to win the 10 p.m.-11 p.m. hour with relatively new drama Eli Stone, about the lawyer whose visions either mean he is a prophet or a head case.
CBS was third with a 3/8 in the demo topped by Survivor with a 4/10 from 8 p.m.-9 p.m. up against American Idol.
NBC was fourth with a 2.6/7 led by a 3.5/8 from Celebrity Apprentice from 9 p.m.-10 p.m.
The CW was fifth, recording a 0.8/2 with repeats of Smallville and Reaper.
