Primetime Ratings: Fox Wins With ‘Idol’

American Idol, while down in the ratings, continues to tally enough ratings points to lead Fox to a Thursday win at 2.2 in viewers 18-49, according to Nielsen overnights, with a 7 share. CBS posted a 1.8/6 for runner-up honors, while NBC rated a 1.3/4, ABC a 0.7/2 and The CW a 0.3/1.

Idol, highlighting the finest singing hopefuls in Denver and beyond, averaged a 2.2 from 8 to 10 p.m., down 19% from last Thursday’s show.

On a ratings-challenged Thursday, flat was the new up.

CBS’ Big Bang Theory put up a 3.7, down 3% from last week, Life in Pieces fell 9% to a 2.0, Mom slid 6% to a 1.7, and Angel From Hell was off 19% from its debut to 1.3. Drama Elementary then did a 1.1, down 8%.

On NBC, Heroes Reborn rated a flat 1.0, then TheBlacklist was off 6% to a 1.5 while Shades of Blue lost 28% from its debut to a 1.3.

ABC’s Beyond the Tank rated a flat 1.0, before two hours of My Diet Is Better Than Yours averaged a 0.6, down 14% from last week.

CW had World Dog Awards at 0.3, same as it did last year.

Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.