Primetime Ratings: Fox Unveils Sidekick for American Idol

Game Show Moment of Truth Posts Strong Debut Wednesday Night

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/24/2008 2:36:00 PM

Fox continued to dominate network primetime and apparently added yet another ratings winner to its lineup. American Idol beat all other shows combined from 8 p.m.-9 p.m. with a 10.8 rating/28 share in the 18-49 demo, but this time it got some help from the powerful debut of game show Moment of Truth, which averaged a rather jaw-dropping 10.2/24 from 9 p.m.-10 p.m.

Fox averaged a 10.5/26 for the night.

NBC was second with a 3/7 led by Deal or No Deal, which managed a solid 3.7/10 up against Idol.

CBS was third with a 2.5/6. Its best-rated show was CSI: NY from 10 p.m.-11 p.m. with a 3.3/9 to win its time period. But in the battle of the game/reality shows, CBS made hardly a peep, with its Power of 10 only managing a 0.9/2 against Idol compared with Deal's relatively strong showing and Moment of Truth's moment of glory.

ABC was fourth with a 2.2/6, getting its best performance out of Supernanny, with a 2.7/6 from 9 p.m.-10 p.m., and not much out of Cashmere Mafia at 10 p.m. (2/5 for third place).

The CW was fifth with a 0.6/1 for a new Crowned (0.7/2) and a repeat of Gossip Girl.