Some late summer trophies for 'Idol'

Some late summer
trophies for 'Idol'

Ranks as summer's top show among 18-49 set

By Kevin Downey

    Even though Fox’s “American Idol: The Search for a Superstar” is firmly established as a summer hit, the show apparently still has a number of milestones left to achieve.
Last week’s Tuesday episode became only the second Fox series in history to rank No. 1 in total viewers, with an audience of 15.3 million.
   The show also ranked as the summer’s highest-rated program so far among adults 18-49.
Two episodes of the reality show ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the demographic last week.
   And “Idol” boosted Fox to its third outright win this summer in the demo and its fourth at No.1, one of which was a tie with NBC, the summer and regular season’s top network in the demographic sought after by many advertisers.
   Fox averaged a 3.1 adult 18-49 rating to NBC’s 3, CBS’s 2.8, and ABC’s 2.6. UPN had a 1.2 and the WB had a 1 rating.
   Perhaps the only thing left to wonder about “Idol” is whether Fox will drive the show into the ground as ABC did with “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” or milk it for successive editions like CBS is doing with “Survivor.”
   With a second installment already set for sometime in the winter, the network and watchful eyes will find out in short order.
While “Idol” dominated last week, Fox had a number of other shows in the top 20.
   Regular series like “Bernie Mac,” “King of the Hill,” the “Simpsons,” “Malcolm in the Middle,” and even “Grounded for Life” ranked among the week’s highest-rated.
   Since all are set to return in the regular season, which begins Sept. 23, Fox may be able to reverse a ratings slide that began last year and seemed probable this fall with the absence of programs like the “X-Files.”
   Still, while Fox had an encouraging week, the competition was stiff.
NBC, like all of the Big Four networks with the exception of still-floundering ABC, relied on a mix of programs heavy on reality with a smattering of top-ranked repeats, notably the “Criminal Intent” and “SVU” editions of its “Law & Order” franchise, to maintain decent ratings going into the regular season.
The network’s top-rated shows among adults 18-49 were “Meet My Folks,” “Dog Eat Dog” and a repeat of “Friends.” Curiously, a special Saturday rerun of “Meet My Folks” ranked as NBC’s lowest-rated program and the lowest-rated on any of the Big Four networks for the week.
   CBS had a similar mix of shows with “Big Brother 3” and repeats of “Everybody Loves Raymond” and “CSI” rankings as its top shows in the demo.
   ABC’s top program was NFL preseason football, which tied at No. 11, while its highest-rated regular series was a repeat of “My Wife & Kids” at No. 24.
   The network’s coverage of the Little League World Series ranked No. 40 among adults 18-49, but did better in total viewers with an audience of nearly 9 million that made it ABC’s third most-watched program.
   Meanwhile, the smaller networks continued plugging along through the summer with reliable hits, like UPN’s “WWE Smackdown” and the WB’s “7^th Heaven” driving much of their ratings. CBS dominated in household ratings, as it has virtually all summer. The network had a 5.8 rating and 10 share, to NBC’s ^{5.4/10, ABC’s 4.8/9 and Fox’s 4.3/8. UPN had a 1.9/3 and the WB had a
1.7/3.}

^{PRIMETIME AVERAGES BY NETWORK}^{Ranked on Households Week Ending Aug. 25}
^Network	^Households			^{People 2+}			^{Adults 18-49}
^Network	^Rtg%	⁽⁰⁰⁰⁾	^Shr	^Rtg%	⁽⁰⁰⁰⁾	^Shr	^Rtg%	⁽⁰⁰⁰⁾	^Shr
^CBS	^5.8	⁶¹²⁰	¹⁰	^3.1	⁸³⁹⁰	⁹	^2.8	³⁵⁵⁰	⁸
^NBC	^5.4	⁵⁷³⁰	¹⁰	^3.0	⁸⁰¹⁰	⁹	^3.0	³⁸⁴⁰	⁹
^ABC	^4.8	⁵⁰⁸⁰	⁹	^2.7	⁷²²⁰	⁸	^2.6	³²⁵⁰	⁸
^FOX	^4.3	⁴⁵²⁰	⁸	^2.6	⁶⁹⁷⁰	⁷	^3.1	³⁹⁸⁰	¹⁰
^UPN	^1.9	²⁰²⁰	³	^1.1	²⁹¹⁰	³	^1.2	¹⁵⁷⁰	⁴
^WB	^1.7	¹⁸¹⁰	³	^0.9	²⁵⁵⁰	³	^1.0	¹²⁹⁰	³
^PAX	^1.0	¹⁰²⁰	²	^0.5	¹³⁵⁰	¹	^0.3	⁴²⁰	¹
^{Source: Nielsen Media Research}

SEASON-TO-DATE* ^{PRIMETIME AVERAGES BY NETWORK}^{Ranked on Households Sept. 24, 2001 through Aug. 25, 2002}
^Network	^Households			^{People 2+}			^{Adults 18-49}
^Network	^Rtg%	⁽⁰⁰⁰⁾	^Shr	^Rtg%	⁽⁰⁰⁰⁾	^Shr	^Rtg%	⁽⁰⁰⁰⁾	^Shr
^NBC	^7.9	⁸³⁵⁰	¹³	^4.4	¹¹⁹⁹⁰	¹²	^4.7	⁵⁹²⁰	¹³
^CBS	^7.4	⁷⁸⁵⁰	¹³	^4.1	¹¹¹⁴⁰	¹¹	^3.5	⁴⁴⁰⁰	¹⁰
^ABC	^5.7	⁶⁰⁰⁰	¹⁰	^3.2	⁸⁶⁶⁰	⁹	^3.2	⁴⁰⁴⁰	⁹
^FOX	^5.2	⁵⁴⁴⁰	⁹	^3.1	⁸³⁰⁰	⁸	^3.6	⁴⁶³⁰	¹⁰
^UPN	^2.4	²⁵⁸⁰	⁴	^1.4	³⁸⁸⁰	⁴	^1.7	²¹¹⁰	⁵
^WB	^2.2	²³⁶⁰	⁴	^1.3	³³⁹⁰	³	^1.4	¹⁸³⁰	⁴
^PAX	^0.9	⁹²⁰	¹	^0.5	¹²⁴⁰	¹	^0.3	⁴⁰⁰	¹
^{* Regular broadcast season ended May 22, 2002 Source: Nielsen Media Research}

^{NETWORK TV}^{Ranked on Households Week Ending Aug. 25}
^#	^PROGRAMS	^Net	^HOUSEHOLDS			^{PERSONS 2+}
^#	^PROGRAMS	^Net	^Rtg%	^Shr	⁽⁰⁰⁰⁾	^RANK	^Rtg%	⁽⁰⁰⁰⁾
¹	^{EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND}	^CBS	^9.6	¹⁵	¹⁰¹²⁷	³	^5.1	¹³⁶⁷²
²	^CSI-MON	^CBS	^9.4	¹⁶	⁹⁹³³	⁴	^5.0	¹³⁵⁵⁹
³	^{LAW AND ORDER}	^NBC	^8.9	¹⁵	⁹⁴⁰⁸	⁵	^4.8	¹³⁰¹¹
⁴	^{AMERICAN IDOL-TUES}	^FOX	^8.8	¹⁴	⁹²⁵⁸	¹	^5.7	¹⁵²⁹³
⁵	^BECKER	^CBS	^8.7	¹⁴	⁹¹⁷⁷	⁶	^4.7	¹²⁵⁵⁶
⁶	^{LAW AND ORDER CRIM INTENT}	^NBC	^8.3	¹⁴	⁸⁷⁹⁶	⁷	^4.6	¹²³⁹⁸
⁷	^{AMERICAN IDOL-WED}	^FOX	^8.0	¹³	⁸⁴⁵⁷	²	^5.2	¹⁴¹⁰³
⁸	^{NFL PRE-SEASON FTBL SP-1(S) (SF vs. Denver)}	^ABC	^7.6	¹³	⁷⁹⁶⁶	⁸	^4.2	¹¹³⁰⁵
⁹	^{LAW AND ORDER:SVU}	^NBC	^7.4	¹⁴	⁷⁷⁹⁹	¹⁰	^3.9	¹⁰⁵⁷⁸
¹⁰	^{60 MINUTES}	^CBS	^7.2	¹⁴	⁷⁵⁹⁰	¹⁵	^3.7	⁹⁹⁵³
¹¹	^{60 MINUTES II}	^CBS	^7.1	¹³	⁷⁵²³	¹³	^3.8	¹⁰²²²
¹²	^FRIENDS	^NBC	^7.0	¹³	⁷⁴¹²	¹⁰	^3.9	¹⁰⁵³⁶
¹³	^{MEET MY FOLKS}	^NBC	^6.9	¹²	⁷²³⁷	⁸	^4.2	¹¹³³⁵
¹⁴	^{DATELINE NBC-TUE}	^NBC	^6.7	¹²	⁷⁰⁷⁰	¹⁹	^3.4	⁹²¹²
¹⁵	^{PRIMETIME THURs.}	^ABC	^6.5	¹¹	⁶⁸⁵⁴	¹⁷	^3.5	⁹⁴⁶⁴
¹⁵	^{YES, DEAR}	^CBS	^6.5	¹¹	⁶⁸⁹⁸	¹⁷	^3.5	⁹⁴⁵⁴
¹⁷	^{BIG BROTHER 3-WED}	^CBS	^6.4	¹¹	⁶⁷⁹⁵	¹³	^3.8	¹⁰²⁴⁰
¹⁷	^{FORENSIC FILES}	^NBC	^6.4	¹¹	⁶⁷³⁶	¹⁹	^3.4	⁹⁰⁶³
¹⁹	^{DOG EAT DOG}	^NBC	^6.3	¹⁰	⁶⁶⁷⁹	¹⁰	^3.9	¹⁰⁶¹⁷
¹⁹	^{WILL & GRACE}	^NBC	^6.3	¹¹	⁶⁶⁹²	²²	^3.3	⁸⁸⁷²
²¹	^{BIG BROTHER 3-THU}	^CBS	^6.2	¹¹	⁶⁴⁹¹	¹⁶	^3.6	⁹⁶³⁵
²¹	^{KING OF QUEENS}	^CBS	^6.2	¹¹	⁶⁵⁵⁷	²²	^3.3	⁸⁹⁶⁹
²¹	^{PRE-SEASON SHOWCASE-1(S)}	^ABC	^6.2	¹²	⁶⁴⁹¹	²²	^3.3	⁸⁸⁰⁶
²⁴	^{CBS SUNDAY MOVIE ("Sealed with a Kiss")}	^CBS	^6.1	¹¹	⁶⁴³⁵	²⁹	^3.1	⁸³⁵⁷
²⁵	^{SCRUBS TH 8:30}	^NBC	^6.0	¹⁰	⁶³¹⁹	²²	^3.3	⁸⁷⁸⁵
^{Source: Nielsen Media Research}

^{CABLE TV}^{Ranked on Households Week Ending Aug. 18}
BASIC CABLE
^#	^{PROGRAM NAME}	^NET	^Households		^{Persons 2+}
^#	^{PROGRAM NAME}	^NET	⁽⁰⁰⁰⁾	^Rtg%	⁽⁰⁰⁰⁾
¹	^{PEPSI 400}	^TNT	⁴⁴⁹⁷	^4.3	⁷³¹²
²	^{NFL PRE-SEASON FOOTBALL L (DOLPHINS/BUCCANEERS)}	^ESPN	⁴⁰²²	^3.8	⁵⁶⁸⁵
³	^{WWE ENTERTAINMENT (WWE RAW ZONE)}	^TNN	³⁴⁴³	^3.3	⁵³¹⁹
⁴	^{WWE ENTERTAINMENT (WWE RAW)}	^TNN	³²⁷⁸	^3.1	⁵⁰⁵²
⁵	^SPONGEBOB	^NICK	³⁰⁵⁴	^2.9	⁴⁶⁸⁴
⁶	^SPONGEBOB	^NICK	³⁰⁴¹	^2.9	⁴⁶¹³
⁷	^SPONGEBOB	^NICK	²⁹⁷⁸	^2.8	⁴¹⁶⁷
⁸	^MONK	^USA	²⁹²⁸	^2.8	⁴⁴⁵⁵
⁹	^{DISCOVER CARD PRE-RACE}	^TNT	²⁸⁵⁵	^2.7	⁴²⁵⁶
¹⁰	^SPONGEBOB	^NICK	²⁸⁴⁹	^2.7	⁴¹¹³
¹¹	^{NFL PRE-SEASON FOOTBALL L (RAIDERS/TITANS)}	^ESPN	²⁷⁹⁸	^2.7	³⁸⁷²
¹²	^SPONGEBOB	^NICK	²⁷⁸⁸	^2.6	⁴¹⁵²
¹³	^SPONGEBOB	^NICK	²⁷⁸²	^2.6	⁴⁰⁰⁸
¹⁴	^SPONGEBOB	^NICK	²⁷⁶⁸	^2.6	⁴³⁶⁷
¹⁵	^{SUNDAY MOVIE (VIOLATION OF TRUST)}	^LIF	²⁷¹²	^2.6	³³²⁵
PAY CABLE
^#	^{PROGRAM NAME}	^NET	^Households		^{Persons 2+}
^#	^{PROGRAM NAME}	^NET	⁽⁰⁰⁰⁾	^Rtg%	⁽⁰⁰⁰⁾
¹	^{SEX AND THE CITY(S)-^8/¹⁸}	^HBO	⁴⁷¹⁶	^4.5	⁶⁹⁴⁹
²	^{ARLISS(S)-8/18}	^HBO	³⁰²⁷	^2.9	⁴³⁷²
³	^{DONT SAY A WORD}	^HBO	²⁹¹³	^2.8	⁴³⁵⁷
⁴	^{WIRE, THE}	^HBO	²⁴¹⁸	^2.3	³⁴³¹
⁵	^{HBO BAD: 8/17}	^HBO	²¹⁵³	^2.0	²⁸²⁶
^{Total U.S. ratings and household projections are based on 105.5 million TV homes. Source: Nielsen Media Research}

^SYNDICATION^{Ranked on Households Week Ending Aug. 11}
^#	^PROGRAMS	^Syndicator	^Households
^#	^PROGRAMS	^Syndicator	^{US Rtg%}	⁽⁰⁰⁰⁾
¹	^{WHEEL OF FORTUNE}	^KIN	^7.4	⁷⁷⁵⁶
²	^JEOPARDY	^KIN	^6.2	⁶⁵¹⁷
³	^{FRIENDS-SYN (AT)}	^WB	^6.1	⁶⁴¹⁹
⁴	^{SEINFELD (AT)}	^CTS	^5.4	⁵⁷²⁹
⁵	^{OPRAH WINFREY SHOW (AT)}	^KIN	^5.2	⁵⁴⁷⁴
⁵	^{EVRY LVS RAYMOND-SYN (AT)}	^KIN	^5.2	⁵⁴⁶⁷
⁷	^{JUDGE JUDY (AT)}	^PRM	^4.8	⁵¹¹²
⁷	^{SEINFELD-WKND (AT)}	^CTS	^4.8	⁵⁰¹³
⁹	^{ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT(AT)}	^PRM	^4.7	⁴⁹⁷²
¹⁰	^{WHEEL OF FORTUNE WKND}	^KIN	^3.9	⁴⁰⁷⁷
^{Source: Nielsen Media Research}

^{SPANISH-LANGUAGE TELEVISION}^{Ranked on Households Week Ending Aug. 25}
#	^PROGRAMS	^Net	^NHTI*	^Projection
#	^PROGRAMS	^Net	^Rtg%	⁽⁰⁰⁰⁾
¹	^{SALOME TUE}	^UNI	^29.2	²⁹⁷⁶
²	^{PRIVILEGIO DE AMAR-THU}	^UNI	^29.0	²⁹⁵⁶
³	^{PRIVILEGIO DE AMAR-MON}	^UNI	^28.8	²⁹³³
⁴	^{SALOME THU}	^UNI	^28.5	²⁹⁰⁸
⁴	^{PRIVILEGIO DE AMAR-WED}	^UNI	^28.5	²⁹⁰³
⁶	^{PRIVILEGIO DE AMAR-TUE}	^UNI	^28.3	²⁸⁸⁷
⁷	^{SALOME MON}	^UNI	^27.7	²⁸²²
⁸	^{SALOME WED}	^UNI	^27.3	²⁷⁸⁶
⁹	^{SALOME FRI}	^UNI	^25.8	²⁶³²
¹⁰	^{PRIVILEGIO DE AMAR-FRI}	^UNI	^25.0	²⁵⁵¹
¹¹	^CRISTINA-MON	^UNI	^20.9	²¹³¹
¹²	^{CASOS VIDA R: ED. ESP FRI}	^UNI	^19.6	²⁰⁰³
¹³	^{GATA SALVAJE-THU}	^UNI	^19.5	¹⁹⁸⁷
¹⁴	^{GATA SALVAJE-WED}	^UNI	^19.3	¹⁹⁶⁴
¹⁵	^{GATA SALVAJE-MON}	^UNI	^18.9	¹⁹²⁶
¹⁶	^{DON FRANCISCO PRESENTA-WE}	^UNI	^18.8	¹⁹¹³
¹⁷	^{GATA SALVAJE-TUE}	^UNI	^18.7	¹⁹⁰⁵
¹⁸	^{PICA Y SE EXTIENDE TUE}	^UNI	^17.5	¹⁷⁸⁷
¹⁹	^{GATA SALVAJE-FRI}	^UNI	^17.2	¹⁷⁵¹
²⁰	^{AQUI Y AHORA-THU}	^UNI	^16.0	¹⁶²⁸
^{* Nielsen Hispanic Television Index; ratings based on 10.2 million Hispanic TV homes. Source: Nielsen Media Research}

^{NETWORK SPORTS}^{Ranked on Households Week Ending Aug. 18}
^#	^PROGRAMS	^Net	^Episode	^Households			^{Persons 2+}
^#	^PROGRAMS	^Net	^Episode	^{US Rtg%}	^Shr	⁽⁰⁰⁰⁾	⁽⁰⁰⁰⁾
¹	^{PGA CHAMPIONSHIPS SUN(S) 8/18}	^CBS		^7.5	¹⁸	⁷⁹⁶⁰	¹⁰⁶⁵⁴
²	^{PGA CHAMPIONSHIPS SAT(S) 8/17}	^CBS		^5.2	¹⁴	⁵⁵²⁴	⁷⁰⁴²
³	^{NFL PRE-SEASON FTBLL(S) 8/17}	^CBS	^{PHILA. AT NEW ENGLND}	^4.1	⁸	⁴²⁸¹	⁶⁰³⁹
⁴	^{NFL ON FOX PRESEASON 1(S) 8/16}	^FOX	^{CHI. AT ST. LOUIS}	^4.1	⁸	⁴²⁹⁴	⁶³⁴⁵
⁵	^{WWE SMACKDOWN!}	^UPN		^3.5	⁶	³⁷⁰³	⁵¹¹⁸
⁶	^{X-GAMES VIII(S) 8/18}	^ABC		^2.2	⁴	²³⁴⁵	³⁸⁹⁵
⁷	^{FOX SAT. BASEBALL}	^FOX	^{VAR. TEAMS AND TIMES}	^2.2	⁷	²³⁶²	³⁰²⁹
⁸	^{X-GAMES SUN 1-8/18(S) 8/18}	^ABC		^1.4	⁴	¹⁴⁴⁹	¹⁹⁸⁴
⁹	^{X-GAMES SUN 2-8/18(S) 8/18}	^ABC		^1.4	⁴	¹⁴⁹⁶	²²⁴⁴
¹⁰	^{X-GAMES-SAT 2-8/17(S)-08/17}	^ABC		^1.3	⁴	¹⁴⁰⁹	²⁰¹⁵
¹¹	^{WNBA SAT}	^NBC	^{SEATT. AT LA}	^1.0	³	¹⁰¹⁶	¹²⁵⁴
¹²	^{WNBA BASKETBALL SUN.(S) 8/18}	^NBC	^{IND. AT NY}	^1.0	³	¹⁰¹⁰	¹¹⁹¹
¹³	^{X-GAMES SAT 1-8/17(S)-8/17}	^ABC		^0.9	²	⁹⁵⁶	¹³⁷⁰
¹⁴	^{ARENA BOWL XVI(S)-8/18}	^ABC	^{ARIZ AT SAN JOSE}	^0.8	²	⁸⁵¹	¹¹²¹
¹⁵	^{AMERICAN LEMANS SERIES (S)-8/18}	^NBC		^0.7	²	⁷²⁴	⁷⁶⁰
¹⁶	^{NBC SPORTS SPECIAL.-(S) 8/18}	^NBC	^{RCA HRDCRT TENNIS-SUN}	^0.7	²	⁷⁰⁰	⁸¹¹
¹⁷	^{NBC SPORTS SPECIAL (S)-8/17}	^NBC	^{RCA HRDCRT TENNIS-SAT}	^0.6	²	⁶⁰⁵	⁶⁸³
¹⁸	^{WUSA WMN SCR-SEMI FNLS 1(S)-8/17}	^PAX	^{WASHINGTON VS PHILADELPHIA}	^0.1	⁰	¹²⁰	²¹⁷
¹⁹	^{WUSA WMN SCR-SEMI FNLS 1B(S)-8/17}	^PAX	^{WASHINGTON VS PHILADELPHIA}	^0.1	⁰	⁷⁴	¹⁵⁸
²⁰	^{WUSA WMN SCR-SEMI FNLS 2(S)-8/17}	^PAX	^{ATLANTA VS CAROLINA}	^0.1	⁰	⁹⁶	¹⁸⁹
^{Source: Nielsen Media Research}

-Kevin Downey is a staff writer for Media Life

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