Fox wins with an extra edition of ‘Idol’

In what’s becoming a familiar story for “American Idol,” the Fox singing competition saw its ratings fall, but the network still won the night by a sizable margin anyway.

“Idol” averaged a 3.4 adults 18-49 rating from 8 to 10 p.m. last night, according to Nielsen overnights, off 11 percent from last Wednesday’s edition.

It was a special episode for “Idol,” which always expands from two to three nights during the semifinals.

It marked the first time this year that the show has aired against CBS’s “NCIS,” and the veteran drama actually drew a slightly higher rating than “Idol,” a 3.3 to the latter’s 3.2, during their shared hour at 8 p.m. It was the first time “NCIS” has ever topped “Idol” in their timeslot.

But “Idol” improved to a 3.5 in its second hour to lift its overall rating to 3.4, finishing as the top-rated show of the night.

Elsewhere last night, ABC’s “Celebrity Wife Swap” tumbled 38 percent from last week’s series high, featuring Kate Gosselin, to a 1.5.

Week two of CBS’s “Golden Boy” fell 11 percent to a 1.6 at 10 p.m., where it had a two-week preview before moving to its usual Friday 9 p.m. slot.

Fox led the night among 18-49s with a 3.4 average overnight rating and a 9 share. CBS was second at 2.6/7, Univision third at 1.8/5, ABC fourth at 1.3/4, NBC fifth at 0.9/3, Telemundo sixth at 0.6/2 and CW seventh at 0.4/1.

As a reminder, all ratings are based on live-plus-same-day DVR playback, which includes shows replayed before 3 a.m. the night before. Seven-day DVR data won’t be available for several weeks. Forty-seven percent of Nielsen households have DVRs.

CBS started the night in the lead with a 3.3 at 8 p.m. for “NCIS,” followed closely by Fox with a 3.2 for “Idol.” Univision was third with a 2.0 for “Por Ella Soy Eva,” ABC fourth with a 1.5 for “Swap,” NBC fifth with a 1.1 for repeats of “Betty White’s Off Their Rockers,” CW sixth with a 0.6 for “Hart of Dixie” and Telemundo seventh with a 0.4 for “Pasion Prohibida.”

Fox took the lead at 9 p.m. with a 3.5 for more “Idol,” while CBS slipped to second with a 2.8 for “NCIS: Los Angeles.” Univision was third with a 1.9 for “Amores Verdaderos,” ABC fourth with a 1.2 for “The Taste,” NBC fifth with a 1.0 for “Go On” (1.1) and “The New Normal” (0.9), Telemundo sixth with a 0.9 for “La Patrona” and CW seventh with a 0.3 for a repeat of “Beauty and the Beast.”

CBS regained the lead at 10 p.m. with a 1.6 for “Boy,” with Univision second with a 1.5 for “Amor Bravio.” ABC was third with a 1.2 for “Body of Proof,” NBC fourth with a series-low 0.7 for “Smash” and Telemundo fifth with a 0.4 for “El Rostro de la Venganza.”

Among households, CBS was first for the night with a 9.5 average overnight rating and a 15 share. Fox was second at 6.9/10, ABC third at 3.1/5, Univision fourth at 2.2/3, NBC fifth at 2.0/3 and CW and Telemundo tied for sixth at 0.7/1.

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