“DANCING” LEADS; “IDOL” STEPS BACK

ABC’s Dancing with the Stars retained its title as the most-watched television show of the week as it attracted 20.4 million viewers, edging out Wednesday’s results edition of American Idol, which drew 20.1 million viewers. Surprisingly Tuesday’s performance edition of Idol attracted 19.4 milliÄon viewers, down 17 percent from the comparable week a year ago. Meanwhile, CBS’s 60 Minutes, which usually sees its ratings decline in April, saw them spurt as correspondent Steve Kroft’s interview with Conan O’Brien drew 13.5 million viewers. (The website PopEater.com said today that O’Brien has turned down requests for additional interviews from the likes of Larry King, Oprah and David Letterman.) Among the nightly newscasts, NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams held on to the lead for the 75th consecutive week with 7.7 million viewers overall, 2.21 million of whom were 25-54 years old. But ABC World News with Diane Sawyer crept closer to the leader with 7.13 million viewers, 2.03 million of whom were in the younger demo. CBS Evening News with Katie Couric continued to trail with 5.3 million viewers, 1.64 million are in the demo.

The top ten sho(ws of the week according to Nielsen Research:
1. Dancing with the Stars, ABC (Monday), 13.2/21; 2. American Idol (Wednesday), Fox, 11.5/18; 3. American Idol (Tuesday), Fox, 11.0/17; 4. NCIS, CBS, 10.1/16; 5. NCIS: Los Angeles, CBS, 9.7/15; 6. The Mentalist, CBS, 9.4/16; 7. 60 Minutes, CBS, 8.6/16; 8. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CBS, 8.5/14; 9. Dancing with the Stars (Tuesday), ABC, 8.2/13; 10. The Good Wife, CBS, 8.0/14.