Primetime Ratings: 'Idol' Propels Fox to Another Easy Victory
NBC comes in second with 'Biggest Loser,' 'Law & Order: SVU'
By David Tanklefsky -- Broadcasting & Cable, 2/18/2009 1:33:24 PM
Fox’s blockbuster American Idol returned the network to the top spot in the ratings battle Tuesday night. The show drew a 9.0/24 in the 8 p.m. hour and a 9.9/23 in the 9 p.m. hour for an easy victory. The show averaged more than 25 million viewers over the two hours.
CBS played second fiddle for the 8 p.m. hour with NCIS drawing a 3.7/10. NBC was third with a 3.2/8 for the first hour of Biggest Loser: Couples. Homeland Security on ABC was fourth at 1.4/4 and the CW was last with a re-run of 90210 drawing a 0.5/1.
The 9 p.m. Idol drew the highest ratings of any show for the night and the most viewers at 9.9/23 and 25.9 million respectively. NBC had a stronger showing with the second hour of Biggest Loser which propelled them into second place at 4.0/9. CBS was third at 3.8/9 but second in total viewers with 18.3 million for The Mentalist. Re-runs of ABC’s Scrubs pulled a 1.2/3 in fourth place. The CW was fifth at 0.3/1 with Privileged.
NBC was the victor in the 10 p.m. hour with Law and Order: SVU drawing a 3.5/9. CBS finished second with a 2.6/7 for Without a Trace, which won the time slot for overall viewers with 12.2 million. ABC’s What Would You Do finished third with a 2.0/5.
For the night, Fox dominated with a 9.5/23. NBC was second at 3.6/9. CBS finished third at 3.4/9. ABC finished fourth at 1.5/4 with the CW fifth at 0.4/1.
