If weekly TV ratings were the Olympics, Fox’s American Idol would have swept the gold, silver, and bronze in the week ending March 8. The blockbuster karaoke show (which added an extra "wild card" installment last week) took the top three spots in the ratings. But just looking at the three outings, you can see that the show tends to lose steam as the week goes on — the Tuesday episode (featuring Lil Rounds, pictured, among other hopefuls), which was the last of the semifinals, drew 24.3 million viewers, while the "wild card" show on Thursday had dropped 2.8 million viewers to 21.5 million total. It makes sense, however, that the appetite for Idol would wane in its third installment of the week. In fact, No. 4 CSI, which featured guest star Taylor Swift, was nipping at Idol‘s heels with just 600,000 fewer viewers than the lowest-rated episode of Fox’s hit.
The other big story of the week was Jason Mesnick and ABC’s reality hit The Bachelor. ABC hit the jackpot with a 13th season that was off the charts, compared with other recent cycles. The show popped up in the Top 20 in three different spots: The Bachelor: After the Final Rose (Monday, 10:02 p.m.) was the most-watched of the three, landing at No. 5 with 17.5 million total viewers. The actual finale (Monday, 8 p.m.) appeared right below, at No. 6 for the week with 15.5 million viewers. And the second installment of After the Final Rose special (Tuesday, 10 p.m.) was down sharply from the Monday night episodes, but it still posted strongly at No. 20 with 10.9 million viewers. Just for some perspective, the finale was the most-watched in the series since Bob Guiney (season 4) bestowed his final thorns in 2003. The After the Final Rose special generated the best-ever numbers for the series in total viewers and the 18-49 demo. Can ABC replicate the success with The Bachelorette? We’ll find out May 18 when it premieres.
The rest of the Top 20 — which is after the jump, with full numbers — was as standard as usual.
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1. American Idol Tuesday | Fox | 24.3 million
2. American Idol Wednesday | Fox | 22.8 million
3. American Idol Thursday | Fox | 21.5 million
4. CSI | CBS | 20.9 million
5. The Bachelor: After the Final Rose | ABC | 17.5 million
6. The Bachelor | ABC | 15.5 million
Two and a Half Men | CBS | 15.5 million
8. NCIS (R) | CBS | 13.7 million
9. Desperate Housewives | ABC | 13.6 million
10. CSI: Miami | CBS | 13.4 million
11. 60 Minutes | CBS | 13.3 million
12. The Mentalist (R) | CBS | 12.6 million
Cold Case | CBS | 12.6 million
14. Eleventh Hour | CBS | 12.1 million
15. Survivor: Tocantins | CBS | 11.9 million
16. Rules of Engagement | CBS | 11.8 million
17. 24 | Fox | 11.1 million
How I Met Your Mother | CBS | 11.1 million
Ghost Whisperer | CBS | 11.1 million
20. The Bachelor: After the Final Rose 2 | ABC | 10.9 million
1. American Idol Tuesday | Fox | 24.3 million
2. American Idol Wednesday | Fox | 22.8 million
3. American Idol Thursday | Fox | 21.5 million
4. CSI | CBS | 20.9 million
5. The Bachelor: After the Final Rose | ABC | 17.5 million
6. The Bachelor | ABC | 15.5 million
Two and a Half Men | CBS | 15.5 million
8. NCIS (R) | CBS | 13.7 million
9. Desperate Housewives | ABC | 13.6 million
10. CSI: Miami | CBS | 13.4 million
11. 60 Minutes | CBS | 13.3 million
12. The Mentalist (R) | CBS | 12.6 million
Cold Case | CBS | 12.6 million
14. Eleventh Hour | CBS | 12.1 million
15. Survivor: Tocantins | CBS | 11.9 million
16. Rules of Engagement | CBS | 11.8 million
17. 24 | Fox | 11.1 million
How I Met Your Mother | CBS | 11.1 million
Ghost Whisperer | CBS | 11.1 million
20. The Bachelor: After the Final Rose 2 | ABC | 10.9 million
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