‘Idol’ returns to big numbers, but CBS still wins weekly ratings
- Share via
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
The Season 8 return of ‘American Idol’ brought huge audiences back to Fox, but the network still couldn’t get past CBS last week, which cruised to No. 1 on the AFC championship game as well as the goodbye episode for star William L. Petersen on ‘CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.’
Tuesday’s two-hour premiere of ‘Idol’ averaged 30.4 million total viewers, down 9% compared with last year’s opener, according to data published Wednesday by Nielsen Media Research. Wednesday’s ‘Idol’ audience was nearly as big (30.3 million).
But CBS piled up 40.6 million total viewers, the largest prime-time audience so far this season, for its Sunday telecast of the AFC Championship game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers. A total of 24.2 million also tuned in to see Petersen take his final bow Thursday after 8 1/2 seasons on ‘CSI.’
Overall, CBS led the way with an average of 17 million viewers, trailed by Fox (12.8), ABC (6.7 million) and NBC (6.2 million). CBS also edged past Fox in the ad-friendly adults aged 18-49 demographics (5.0 rating vs. 4.8).
A relatively quiet week on basic cable was topped by USA’s wrestling program ‘Monday Night Raw’ (5.4 million).
— Scott Collins
(Photo: Louisville audition, Mary Kutter, 16, courtesy Michael Becker / FOX)
