Hiccup for Fox's
hit 'American Idol'
Second night of premiere averages a 10.1 in 18-49s
By Toni Fitzgerald
Jan 14, 2010
"American Idol" hit a down note last night, falling notably from Tuesday's season premiere. Still, it thrashed the competition.
"Idol" averaged a 10.1 adults 18-49 rating at 8 p.m., according to Nielsen overnights, off 14 percent from Tuesday's 11.7 overnight.
As Fox points out, last night's episode was 90 minutes, whereas Tuesday's was 120, and the final 30 minutes of the latter episode delivered a 12.6 rating, boosting the show's average. So it's not an exact apples-to-apples comparison.
Still, at 8, 8:30 and 9 p.m., "Idol" was down from the previous night.
The 90-minute show averaged 26.3 million total viewers, down from 29.8 million on Tuesday night.
That was also down from the second night last year, when "Idol" averaged an 11.8 in 18-49s and 30.3 million viewers, though again that was a two-hour episode.
Some of the decline may be attributable to the Paula Abdul factor. Viewers may have tuned in Tuesday to see what the show would be like without her and drifted away or time-shifted Wednesday's show after satisfying their curiosity.
"Idol" destroyed the competition at 8 p.m., with only ABC's "The Middle" managing better than a 2.1 rating.
But at 9 p.m., two competing shows, CBS's "Criminal Minds" and ABC's "Modern Family," while down from last week, showed promise. "Minds" averaged a 3.5 and "Family" a 3.2.
In fact, ABC had its best showing opposite an "Idol" Wednesday premiere night in four years, with all three of its comedies, which were recently given second-season pickups, bettering their season average on the night.
In late night, NBC's "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien" climbed to a 1.8 adults 18-49 rating, according to Local People Meter numbers, up 0.1 over the previous night. O'Brien continues to benefit from the controversy over where his "Tonight" program will end up, with NBC wanting to move it to 12:05 a.m. and the comedian saying no way.
O'Brien's nightly barbs at NBC and Jay Leno, who would take over the 11:35 p.m. slot, have been drawing new viewers since the controversy erupted last week.
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In primetime, Fox was first for the night among 18-49s with an 8.5 average overnight rating and a 22 share. CBS was second at 3.1/8, ABC third at 2.2/6, NBC fourth at 1.7/5, Univision fifth at 1.4/4 and CW sixth at 0.3/1.
As a reminder, all ratings are based on live-plus-same-day DVR playback. Seven-day DVR data won’t be available for several weeks. Thirty-four percent of Nielsen households have DVRs.
At 8 p.m. Fox led with a 9.4 for “Idol,” while ABC and CBS tied for second 1.9, ABC for a repeat of “Family” and a new “Middle” (2.1) and CBS for “The New Adventures of Old Christine” (1.9) and “Gary Unmarried” (1.9). NBC and Univision tied for fourth at 1.5, NBC for “Mercy” and Univision for “En Nombre del Amor,” with CW sixth with a 0.3 for a repeat of “One Tree Hill.”
Fox was first again at 9 p.m. with a 7.5 for the last half hour of “Idol” (11.5) and a repeat of “The Simpsons” (3.6), while CBS took second place with a 3.9 for “Criminal Minds,” which showed a sharp rise in its second half after "Idol" finished.
ABC was third with a 3.2 for “Modern Family” (3.2) and “Cougar Town” (3.1), NBC fourth with a 2.0 for “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (up 35 percent in its second half), Univision fifth with a 1.6 for “Sortilegio” and CW sixth with a 0.2 for a “Gossip Girl” rerun.
At 10 p.m. CBS took the lead with a 3.6 for “CSI: NY,” while ABC and NBC tied for second at 1.6, ABC for “Ugly Betty” (equal to last week's debut) and NBC for “The Jay Leno Show.” Univision was fourth with a 1.1 for “Don Francisco Presenta.”
Fox also led the night among households with a 12.2 average overnight rating and a 19 share. CBS was second at 7.1/12, NBC third at 4.1/7, ABC fourth at 3.8/6, Univision fifth at 1.9/3 and CW sixth at 0.5/1.
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