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While Fox’s ‘Idol’ Continues to Erode — But Also Continues to Win the Night — Other Broadcast Shows Have More Serious Ratings Problems

Mar 21, 2013  •  Post A Comment

Fox’s “American Idol” continued to slip in the ratings Wednesday night, based on Nielsen overnights, but it still had enough drawing power to lift Fox to a comfortable win for the night. Meanwhile, TVbytheNumbers.com reports that a couple of ABC shows equaled or surpassed their all-time lows in the key 18-49 demo.

“Idol’s” 3.5 average in viewers 18-49 was off 8% from the number the show delivered last week. But Fox still won the night handily, with its 3.5 average in 18-49 beating CBS (2.6 average), Univision (1.7), NBC (1.4) and ABC (1.2). The race was tighter for total viewers, but Fox came out on top with 12.7 million, ahead of CBS (10.5 million), NBC (4.9 million), Univision (4.0 million) and ABC (4.0 million).

ABC aired a mostly repeat lineup, which didn’t give much support to fresh episodes of “The Neighbors” and “Suburgatory.” “Neighbors” matched last week’s all-time low, a 1.4 average in 18-49, while “Suburgatory” hit a new series low with a 1.5, losing 12% from its previous original.

CBS had the night’s second-highest-rated show behind “Idol,” with “Criminal Minds” delivering a 3.0 average in adults 18-49 — 15% better than its previous original. “Survivor” was off 7% from last week to a 2.5, while “CSI” surged 21% from its previous original to record a 2.3.

NBC’s lineup, which included back-to-back episodes of “Whitney” — one fresh, one repeat — saw erosion across the board. The fresh episode of “Whitney” kicked things off with a 1.1 in the 18-49 demo, down 8% from last week, with the repeat checking in with a 0.9. “Law & Order: SVU” fell 6% from its most recent original to a 1.5, while “Chicago Fire” lost 15%, registering a 1.7.

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