Overnights
Not a lot of suds for 'New Amsterdam'
By Toni Fitzgerald
Mar 5, 2008 - 11:38:02 AM

The long-delayed immortal cop drama “New Amsterdam” made its debut last night behind “American Idol,” and the results were nothing special.

“Amsterdam” averaged a 4.6 adults 18-49 rating, according to Nielsen overnights, holding just 44 percent of “Idol’s” 10.5 rating at 8 p.m. “Amsterdam” also lost more than half “Idol’s” audience in total viewers, averaging 13.7 million to the latter’s 28.2 million.

Though “Amsterdam” won its 9 p.m. timeslot on both measures, it hardly produced the sort of numbers one expects from a show with such a strong lead-in. It did slightly better than the 4.3 average for the comedy “Back to You” last week in two post-“Idol” outings.

But it was well off the 10.2 earned by the premiere of the reality series “Moment of Truth” in its post-“Idol” premiere in January. And from its first to its second half hour, the show slid 22 percent, from a 5.1 to a 4.0.

“Amsterdam,” which received mixed reviews after being bumped from last fall’s schedule, will air again after “Idol” on Thursday before moving to its permanent timeslot, Mondays at 9 p.m.

Fox was first for the night with a 7.5 average overnight rating and an 18 share. NBC was second at 3.3/8, CBS third at 2.1/5, ABC fourth at 1.8/5, Univision fifth at 1.5/4 and CW sixth at 1.1/3.
 
At 8 p.m. Fox led with a 10.5 for “American Idol,” followed by NBC with a 3.0 for the first half of “The Biggest Loser.” CBS was third with a 2.1 for a repeat of “NCIS,” Univision fourth with a 1.9 for “Al Diablo con los Guapos,” ABC fifth with a 1.3 for “Just for Laughs” and CW sixth with a 0.7 for a repeat of “America’s Next Top Model.”
 
Fox led again at 9 p.m. with a 4.6 for the premiere of “Amsterdam,” while NBC remained second with a 4.1 for its second hour of “Loser.” The show’s 3.5 two-hour average was its best since Jan. 22.

CBS was third in the hour with a 2.5 for “Big Brother,” ABC fourth with a 1.7 average for “According to Jim” (1.9) and “Carpoolers” (1.5), Univision fifth with a 1.6 for “Pasion” and CW sixth with a 1.5 for the recently renewed “One Tree Hill,” which tied a season high for its January premiere.
 
At 10 p.m. NBC jumped into the lead with a 2.9 for a repeat of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” with ABC second with a 2.3 for “Primetime.” CBS was third with a 1.8 for “Jericho” and Univision fourth with a 1.1 for “Aqui y Ahora.”
 
Fox also finished first for the night among households with a 12.1 average overnight rating and an 18 share. NBC was second at 5.9/9, CBS third at 5.1/8, ABC fourth at 3.7/6, Univision fifth at 1.8/3 and CW sixth at 1.6/3.