American Idol is on top of the weekly ratings yet again. For the seven days ending March 15, Fox’s megahit took the Nos. 1 and 2 spots, with 25.8 million viewers for the Tuesday competition episode and 25.5 million for the Wednesday results episode. Normally, the disparity between the competition and results shows is far greater, but musical performances from Kanye West and American Idol alum Kelly Clarkson on Wednesday night likely helped bump up that installment’s viewership.
That said, Idol may have finally found some serious ratings competition! ABC’s celebrity hoofing juggernaut Dancing With the Stars, which premiered to a very hefty 22.8 million viewers, closely nipped at the heels of Fox’s karaoke titan: It trailed Ryan Seacrest & Co. by just 2.7 million. Fox must be shaking at the prospect of DWTS overtaking Idol in the weekly ratings. We’re not quite there yet, but it is a very real possibility in the not-too-distant future. In fact, the season 8 premiere of DWTS was the most-watched debut ever for the series and the second-highest-rated in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic. And there was this, too: DWTS‘ nearly 23 million viewers were the most drawn to ABC on a Monday night since May 2006. Guess what execs at ABC are probably doing right now? Maybe…dancing!
The rest of the Top 20 was business as usual. CBS’s CSI rolled in at No. 4 and ABC’s Desperate Housewives popped up next, with 14.6 million, to round out the Top 5. Then it was your usual menagerie of CBS procedurals, ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, CBS’s Two and a Half Men and Survivor, Fox’s trio of dramas (24, Lie to Me, and House). And, NBC’s Law & Order: SVU (possibly buoyed by all the news about star Mariska Hargitay lately?) made a surprise appearance in the Top 20. Want to see exactly where the rest of the shows landed? The complete breakdown is after the jump.
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1. American Idol Tuesday | Fox | 25.8 million
2. American Idol Wednesday | Fox | 25.5 million
3. Dancing With the Stars | ABC | 22.8 million
4. CSI | CBS | 17.1 million
5. Desperate Housewives | ABC | 14.6 million
6. Criminal Minds | CBS | 14.3 million
The Mentalist (R) | CBS | 14.3 million
8. CSI: Miami | CBS | 14.2 million
9. Grey’s Anatomy | ABC | 13.6 million
CSI: NY | CBS | 13.6 million
11. NCIS (R) | CBS | 13.5 million
12. Two and a Half Men | CBS | 13.4 million
13. Cold Case | CBS | 13.0 million
14. 60 Minutes | CBS | 12.9 million
15. Survivor: Tocantins | CBS | 12.8 million
16. House | Fox | 12.4 million
17. Eleventh Hour | CBS | 11.6 million
18. 24 | Fox | 11.4 million
19. Lie to Me | Fox | 11.3 million
20. Law & Order: SVU | NBC | 11.1 million
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1. American Idol Tuesday | Fox | 25.8 million
2. American Idol Wednesday | Fox | 25.5 million
3. Dancing With the Stars | ABC | 22.8 million
4. CSI | CBS | 17.1 million
5. Desperate Housewives | ABC | 14.6 million
6. Criminal Minds | CBS | 14.3 million
The Mentalist (R) | CBS | 14.3 million
8. CSI: Miami | CBS | 14.2 million
9. Grey’s Anatomy | ABC | 13.6 million
CSI: NY | CBS | 13.6 million
11. NCIS (R) | CBS | 13.5 million
12. Two and a Half Men | CBS | 13.4 million
13. Cold Case | CBS | 13.0 million
14. 60 Minutes | CBS | 12.9 million
15. Survivor: Tocantins | CBS | 12.8 million
16. House | Fox | 12.4 million
17. Eleventh Hour | CBS | 11.6 million
18. 24 | Fox | 11.4 million
19. Lie to Me | Fox | 11.3 million
20. Law & Order: SVU | NBC | 11.1 million
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Not sure if I’d consider 3 million to be close and DWTS was down 1.7 million yesterday to last week, but whatever.
It’s shocking how well the CBS Tuesday dramas do, never thought a repeat of The Mentalist would tie a new Criminal Minds and beat Grey’s by almost a million.
While I’m not happy with either being on top, I have to say I’d rather it be DWTS. It takes itself less seriously and seems less interested in manipulating its viewers. Idol has soured me so so much this year. I hope its the breaking point year and that it’s gone in a few more.
Male or female audience? No offence, I watched DWTS once and it was boring (the same goes with Ryan Seacrest being on Idol).
abc has pulled a fast one with dwts. they put on phony show for the bachelor atfr, by pretending it was a real breakup of melissa and jason…just to sympathy from the fans to watch dwts. melissa is just a bimbo and it was a strategy to portray her as the jilted one when it was an act.
Carrie Ann has to drop her favoritism. Pretty blatant. Gilles is good, but Melissa is better. Meow Carrie Ann. I don’t like it when the judges obviously favor certain contestants. Like Idol is doing too. This year these shows seem pretty darned staged. It’s too bad, takes away from the element of surprise!
When Melissa got dumped by Jason, she became America’s sweetheart showered with sympathy. Everyone wanted to know what she would do next. ABC did it for them. That was a brilliant move bringing her to dwts. It probably raised their ratings even higher than expected. She’ll do bigger and better than Jason Molly or even the new bachelorette Jillian. You saw her clean out her desk at her old obscure job. This babe is Hollywood now. And the best part is, she can dance too, and has a real shot of winning this whole thing.
As for the Bachelor I have a great idea. Why don’t you have the next Bachelor be a Mormon. This way, he can marry all 25 WOMEN! Nobody is sent home, and everybody is happy. Far fetched? This show has become a joke!