As usual, Fox’s American Idol was Tuesday evening’s top-rated program with 25.2 million viewers. That’s up 11 percent from last Tuesday, when President Barack Obama’s Neighborhood Ball stole some viewers, but still 17 percent below its season premiere. Meanwhile, with 19 million viewers, CBS’ NCIS continued to perform well opposite TV’s top-rated show. Elsewhere in primetime, there was good news for ABC’s Scrubs, which actually grew 11 percent at 9 p.m. and 16 percent at 9:30 p.m., to average above 5 million viewers for the hour. And Fox’s Fringe held strong week-to-week with 12.1 million viewers. Still, that show couldn’t beat the second hour of NBC’s Biggest Loser: Couples, which averaged 12.9 million, or a repeat of TV’s No. 1 new series, CBS’ The Mentalist (15.1 million).
| Show | Time | Viewers (in millions) |
|---|---|---|
| 8 p.m. | American Idol (Fox) NCIS (CBS) Biggest Loser: Couples (NBC) Homeland Security USA (ABC) 90210 (The CW) |
25.2 19.0 11.0 5.6 1.1 (repeat) |
| 9 p.m. | The Mentalist (CBS) Fringe (Fox) Scrubs (ABC) Privileged (The CW) |
15.1 (repeat) 12.1 5.1 .8 (repeat) |
| 9:30 p.m. | Scrubs (ABC) | 5.0 |
| 10 p.m. | Without a Trace (CBS) Law & Order: SVU (NBC) What Would You Do? (ABC) |
12.8 7.1 (repeat) 6.3 |
More TV News:
Michael Slezak recaps American Idol
Idol Gallery: Where are 14 of your favorite contestants now?
Jean Bentley recaps The Biggest Loser: Couples
Comments (1-3) of 3 Add your comment
Ugh for reality TV. Glad Fringe is doing well. Its a slow building affinity.
NCIS!
Boring. Why not say in ONE post at the beginning of the season, “American Idol wins every Tuesday and Wednesday until the end of May”, that would be fantastic. Surprise us and write about some fantastic, well-written shows that require, you know, actual talent. Please.