Viewers Choose American Idol

Tuesday might have been an important night for the presidential primary process, but Fox came away the big winner in the television ratings race, easily outpacing its rivals’ election coverage. As usual, “American Idol” led over all, drawing 27.8 million viewers at 8, according to Nielsen’s estimates. At 9, Fox’s “House” earned a similarly dominant 23.2 million viewers. Meanwhile, ABC, the only network to broadcast three full hours of election returns, ranked fourth over all with an average of 5.3 million viewers during prime time. CBS, which broadcast presidential primary results from 9 to 11, finished third (4.7 million). NBC’s election coverage won the 10 o’clock time slot (5.6 million), possibly benefiting from higher ratings leading into the hour. NBC’s “Biggest Loser” averaged eight million viewers in second place from 8 to 10, behind Fox. NBC also led Monday night’s ratings, thanks to “American Gladiators” (nine million) followed by “Deal or No Deal” at 9:30 (13.2 million). Also on Monday, at 10 p.m., ABC’s “20/20” special on the death of Natalee Holloway drew 12.7 million viewers, the largest audience for “20/20” in more than a year.

source: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/07/arts/07arts-VIEWERSCHOOS_BRF.html?_r=1&ref=arts&oref=slogin