“Idol,” “CSI” fuel weekly wins for Fox, CBS

By Nellie Andreeva

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Another monster viewer
turnout for Fox’s “American Idol” delivered a decisive weekly
victory for the network in the key adults 18-49 demographic,
but CBS sneaked past Fox for the glory in total viewers.

CBS’ highlights of the week ended January 29 included a
solid start for the Monday 9:30 p.m. premiere of the Jenna
Elfman comedy “Courting Alex.”

The Tuesday and Wednesday editions of “Idol” easily topped
the weekly program rankings in both adults 18-49 and viewers.
Tuesday’s two-hour dose of “Idol” delivered 35 million viewers
and a 15.1 rating/35 share in the demo; Wednesday’s 8 p.m.
installment reeled in 32.4 million viewers and a 13.0/32 in
18-49, according to Nielsen Media Research.

For the week, CBS pulled in 13.3 million viewers followed
by 13 million for Fox, 10.8 million for ABC, and 8.1 million
for NBC. In adults 18-49, Fox had a mile-wide lead with an
average of 5.6/14, followed by CBS (3.9/10), ABC (3.7/10) and

NBC (2.8/10).

After a hot start the previous week with “Idol” as its
lead-in Wednesday, viewership of Fox’s “Skating With
Celebrities” (10.9 million, 3.7/9) fell back to Earth but still
did credible business in its move to Monday at 8 p.m. Fox’s
fortunes improved at 9 p.m. with another strong showing from
“24″ (14.2 million, 5.8/13), which beat CBS’ comedies “Two and
a Half Men” (17.1 million, 5.8/13) and “Alex” (14.9 million,
5.1/11) for the hour in the key demo but not viewers. “Alex”
did a respectable job of holding on to its “Men” lead-in.

On Wednesday, Fox’s rookie drama “Bones” (11.4 million,
4.7/11) had little traction in the post-”Idol” slot, retaining
only about a third of the “Idol” lead-in.

CBS’ top dog for the week, as always, was Thursday 9 p.m.’s
“CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” (25.9 million, 8.3/20). While
still formidable, “CSI” appears to be feeling the pinch of
competition from ABC’s 8-9:30 p.m. “Dancing With the Stars”
(19.4 million, 5.1/13) and NBC’s 9-10 p.m. block “My Name Is
Earl” (10.5 million, 5.0/12) and “The Office” (8.6 million,
4.6/11). ABC’s new comedy “Crumbs” (10.7 million, 3.1/7),
however, continues to struggle in the 9:30 p.m. slot despite
the fancy footwork of “Stars.”

CBS’ Thursday 10 p.m. drama “Without a Trace” (22.3
million, 7.1/19) had a good week with lighter competition from
a repeat of NBC’s “ER” (7.9 million, 3.4/9).

Meanwhile, NBC’s Thursday comedy “The Office” (8.6 million,
4.6/11) posted its best retention to date of its “Earl” lead-in
among adults 18-49, 92%.

Also on Thursday, the 100th episode of WB’s “Smallville”
(6.3 million, 2.8/8) scored big, posting all-time records for
the network in the 8-9 p.m. period in several key demographics,
including adults 18-34 (3.3/10) and persons 12-34 (3.2/10).

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter