"American Idol,’ on Thursday, March 3, 2011, had the highest ratings of any show on a Thursday night–on any network–in four years, reports The Hollywood Reporter.

The story, by our friend Marissa Guthrie, said, "With virtually the entire broadcast lineup in reruns against American Idol’s two-hour Top 13 finalist reveal Thursday night, the Fox show climbed 13% week-to-week for an 8.1 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 15% among total viewers with 25 million."

The article adds that "CBS was a distant second for the night (2.0, 9.3 million)," and that Univision was third (1.6, 3.9 million). Next came NBC and then ABC.

Despite its ratings success, TVWeek Open Mic blogger Chuck Ross saw some systematic problems with this week’s "Idol" telecasts.  To read his contorversial blog entry, please click here.