Fox's "American Idol" was again the dominant player on Wednesday, but a special seg of CBS' "Survivor: All-Stars" also put up good numbers, according to preliminary nationals from Nielsen. Fox took the night in all key measures.
From 8:30 to 9:30, "Idol" averaged a big 9.6/25 in adults 18-49 and 22.8 million viewers overall, helping a special 9:30 seg of rookie comedy "Arrested Development" post its best numbers to date (4.3/11 in adults 18-49, 9.8 million viewers overall). Fox's "That '70s Show" (4.9/14 in adults 18-49, 10.1 million viewers overall) was a strong second at 8.
"Survivor" averaged a 7.0/19 in adults 18-49 and 18.7 million viewers overall from 8 to 9, winning its first half-hour and slipping to second in most categories at 8:30 opposite "Idol." The CBS reality adventure series was down about 15% vs. its recent Thursday averages.
Elsewhere on the night, ABC drama "Stephen King's Kingdom Hospital" (3.0/9 in adults 18-49, 7.1 million viewers overall) declined another 10% or so week-to-week, finishing second in the 10 o'clock hour to a repeat of NBC's "Law & Order" (5.0/14 in adults 18-49, 14.3 million viewers overall). And CBS comedy "The Stones" premiered with a fourth-place thud at 9:30 (2.7/7 in adults 18-49, 7.2 million viewers overall).
Preliminary 18-49 averages for the night: Fox, 7.1/19; CBS, 4.2/11; NBC, 3.7/10; ABC, 3.4/9; WB, 1.0/3; UPN, 0.6/2.
In total viewers: Fox, 16.4 million; CBS, 11.6 million; NBC, 10.2 million; ABC, 8.5 million; WB, 2.8 million; UPN, 1.8 million
Contact Rick Kissell at
rick.kissell@variety.com