Fox wins weeklong race for coveted crown

By Paul J. Gough

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) – Fox made it a dozen weeks
atop the coveted adults 18-49 demographic with another win last
week as it raced ABC to the finish line for a season win in the
closely watched race.

“American Idol,” “House” and “24″ led the way for Fox,
while “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Desperate Housewives” and “Lost” were
the drivers for ABC. Both networks were tied at a 4.0 rating/11
share through Sunday night, according to data released Tuesday
by Nielsen Media Research. The data include ABC’s Super Bowl
ratings.

CBS, which owns the season lead in total viewers, scored a
3.8/10 in the demo, while NBC brought up the rear with a 3.3/9.

Last week, Fox had four of the top 10 programs in the
adults 18-49 demographic, while ABC and CBS each had three. Fox
was led by Tuesday’s hour-long “Idol” (28.8 million viewers,
11.6/31), followed by Wednesday’s “Idol” results show (27.9
million, 11.2/27).

“Grey’s” (22.6 million, 9.7/23) was the top scripted show
in the demo, while CBS’ “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” (27
million, 8.4/22) beat it in total viewers. “House” (24.2
million, 9.4/23) also was in the top five, turning in the
second-highest demo ratings ever.

Rounding out the top 10 were “Housewives” (21 million,
8.2/18) and “Lost” (16.3 million, 6.9/16), CBS’ “CSI: Miami”
(20 million, 6.6/17) and “Survivor: Panama” finale (17 million,
6.2/15) and Fox’s “Unanimous” (14.2 million, 6.0/14).

NBC’s highest entry in the demo race was “Deal or No Deal”
on Wednesday, which averaged 15.5 million viewers and a 4.9/14
(just ahead of “Deal’s” Monday edition, which averaged 15.9
million viewers but a 4.8/13).

Thursday was won in the demo by “CSI”; “Without a Trace”
(19.2 million, 5.8/15) came in second ahead of NBC’s “ER” (13.2
million, 5.5/15).

Fridays belonged to “Deal,” (12.7 million, 3.6/13), while
Saturday night’s sports battle saw Fox’s “NASCAR Nextel Cup
Dodge Charger 500″ (7.9 million, 2.9/11) come in ahead of ABC’s
Dallas-San Antonio NBA playoff game (4.7 million, 1.7/6).

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter