“DANCING” TRIPS “IDOL” AGAIN

Once again, Fox’s American Idol was not the top-rated show last week. For the third consecutive week, it was beaten out by ABC’s Dancing with the Stars, whose Monday edition attracted 21.07 million viewers. The Tuesday edition of Idol placed second for the week with 19.67 million viewers. Idol‘s Wednesday results edition came in third with 18.82 million viewers. Fox also scored strongly with its new hit Glee, which placed seventh on the Nielsen list. With House and 24 also drawing solid numbers, Fox finished the week in first place with a 5.4 rating and a 9 share (it was also first among adults 18-49), edging out the usual weekly winner, CBS, which registered a 5.3/9. ABC placed third for the week with a 4.7/8, followed by NBC with a 3.7/6. Among the nightly newscasts, ABC World News with Diane Sawyer continued to edge closer to NBC News with Brian Williams. Among total viewers, NBC led with 7.64 million to ABC’s 7.08 million. Among adults 25-54, the results were even tighter. NBC led with 2.19 million viewers to ABC’s 1.91 million. CBS Evening News with Katie Couric remained a distant third with 5.09 million overall and 1.48 million in the demo.

The top ten shows of the week according to Nielsen Research:
1. Dancing with the Stars (Monday), ABC, 13.4/21; 2. American Idol (Tuesday), Fox, 11.0/18; 3. American Idol (Wednesday), Fox, 10.6/18; 4. The Mentalist, CBS, 9.4/16; 5. Dancing with the Stars (Tuesday), ABC, 8.8/14; 6. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CBS, 8.2/13; 7. Glee, Fox, 7.6/12; 8. CSI: Miami, CBS, 7.3/12; 9. 60 Minutes, CBS, 7.2/13; 10. Desperate Housewives, ABC, 7.1/11; 10. (Tie) Two and a Half Men, CBS, 7.1/11; 10. (Tie) The Big Bang Theory, CBS, 7.1/11.