"American Idol," "That '70s Show" and "The OC" all contributed to another Wednesday primetime victory in all key demos for Fox, according to preliminary nationals from Nielsen.
From 8:30 to 9, "American Idol" (9.6/25 in adults 18-49, 21.8 million viewers overall) crushed its competish; although this would be its lowest share for a half-hour this season, "Idol" again was up over the same night a year ago. Fox also led in all key categories in the 8 o'clock half-hour with "That '70s Show" (5.9/17 in adults 18-49, 12.2 million viewers) and led or tied for the lead in 18-49 and younger demos from 8 to 9 with "The OC" (5.1/12 in adults 18-49, 11.2 million viewers).
NBC, which edged out ABC for second on the night in 18-49, was led by a slot-leading "Law & Order" (6.2/16 in adults 18-49, 18.0 million viewers) at 10. From 9 to 10, "West Wing" (3.6/9 in adults 18-49, 11.8 million viewers) was up week-to-week but down about 20% year-to-year.
ABC was paced by "The Bachelorette" (5.1/12 in adults 18-49, 11.6 million viewers), which tied for the 18-49 lead from 9 to 10, and the finale of "Celebrity Mole: Yucatan" (4.4/12 in adults 18-49, 9.1 million viewers).
CBS was competitive from 9 to 10 with "King of Queens" (4.3/11 in adults 18-49, 12.7 million viewers) and a repeat of "Everybody Loves Raymond" (4.5/11 in adults 18-49, 13.1 million viewers) but bombed at 10 with an Oscar-based special "48 Hours" in conjunction with Entertainment Weekly (2.4/6 in adults 18-49, 7.8 million viewers).
At the WB, "Smallville" (2.3/6 in adults 18-49, 5.9 million viewers) ran second to Fox in persons 12-34 in the night's opening hour (2.8/9).
Preliminary 18-49 averages for the night: Fox, 6.4/16; NBC, 4.3/11; ABC, 4.2/11; CBS, 3.2/8; WB, 2.2/5; UPN, 1.4/4.
In total viewers: Fox, 14.1 million; NBC, 12.4 million; CBS, 10.8 million; ABC, 9.8 million; WB, 5.3 million; UPN, 3.4 million.
Contact Rick Kissell at
rick.kissell@variety.com