It's déjà vu all over again. American Idol ran two airings and shock of shocks they were #1 and #2 in this week's top twenty list. And as surprised as I'm sure you're going to be, Dancing with the Stars again locked up the #3 and #4 spots!
With no new episode of LOST, but a new episode of CSI: Miami, CBS rocketed into the top five. David Caruso and crew netted over 16 million viewers -- the most watched scripted program of the week and one of only FOUR scripted programs in this week's top twenty, joining Two and a Half Men, How I Met Your Mother, and FOX's ‘Til Death at #19 which had the benefit of the American Idol lead-in.
CBS and scripted programming should fare even better in this list next week when new episodes of CSI, CSI: NY, Criminal Minds and Without a Trace will very likely land in the top twenty.
We don't make the numbers up, we just report them and although CBS sewed up the 5, 6, 7 and 8th spots on the list, the NCAA postgame coverage lasted but a mere six minutes in the #5 slot. Still, it's worth noting that overall (not just in primetime) the NCAA ratings are down 7% versus last year. The results of the writer's strike do not seem to be a boon at all for the NCAA games. Much more of a boon was CBS having all new episodes of its Monday night line-up.
Though it didn't make the top 20, The New Adventures of Old Christine was #22 on a HH Ratings basis, and The Big Bang Theory was #29. Based on the overnight results for 3/31, Monday again performed very well for the tiffany gang at CBS.
The series finale of Jericho drew but a paltry 6.02 million and a 3.8/6 (rating/share). The 59th show on the list. CBS made the right call.
ABC and CBS each had six spots on the list, FOX and NBC, four each. If you're hungry for more "network vs. network" analysis, click away.
Nielsen Top Twenty Shows by viewers for the week ending 03/30/08:
| Rank | Show | Net | HH RATING (LIVE+SD) | HH SHARE (LIVE+SD) | Viewers (LIVE+SD) (000) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | American Idol-WEDNESDAY | FOX | 15.2 | 24 | 25,742 |
| 2 | American Idol-TUESDAY | FOX | 14.0 | 21 | 24,758 |
| 3 | Dancing with the Stars | ABC | 13.0 | 20 | 20,515 |
| 4 | DANCING W/STARS RESULTS | ABC | 11.0 | 17 | 17,487 |
| 5 | CSI: MIAMI | CBS | 10.3 | 17 | 16,065 |
| 6 | CBS NCAA POST GUN SU 2(S) | CBS | 8.9 | 16 | 14,359 |
| 7 | Two and a Half Men | CBS | 8.6 | 13 | 14,235 |
| 8 | 60 Minutes | CBS | 8.7 | 14 | 13,359 |
| 9 | Extreme Makeover:HOME ED. | ABC | 7.5 | 12 | 12,964 |
| 10 | APPRENTICE 7 | NBC | 7.7 | 13 | 12,132 |
| 11 | DEAL OR NO DEAL 3/27(S) | NBC | 7.1 | 12 | 11,397 |
| 12 | OPRAHS BIG GIVE | ABC | 7.0 | 11 | 11,362 |
| 13 | How I Met Your Mother | CBS | 6.3 | 10 | 10,667 |
| 14 | Dateline FRI | NBC | 7.1 | 12 | 10,628 |
| 15 | DANCING W/STARS RECAP(S) | ABC | 6.8 | 11 | 10,504 |
| 16 | CBS NCAA BSKBL CHMP SA-2(S) | CBS | 6.5 | 12 | 10,417 |
| 17 | DEAL OR NO DEAL-MON | NBC | 6.2 | 9 | 10,140 |
| 18 | MOMENT OF TRUTH | FOX | 6.6 | 11 | 10,051 |
| 19 | TIL DEATH SP-3/25 9:30P(S) | FOX | 6.0 | 9 | 10,004 |
| 20 | PRIMETIME:WHAT WOULD U DO | ABC | 6.7 | 11 | 9,916 |
Technique, it's the number 1 comedy because of of how hilarious at how bad it is. Keep Jericho dammit, alot of people can't stay up till' 11 (mountain time) to watch it, parents force kids to go to bed and parents have work, so they have to go to bed. Let's face it, JERICHO OWNS! It'll het brought back again, just watch, you will be writing articles again dammit. The reason it's the most watched on the internet, recorded and watched on itunes, is because of this timeslot, but people are watching, just that everyone is too dumb to realize it.
Technique, it’s the number 1 comedy because of of how hilarious at how bad it is. Keep Jericho dammit, alot of people can’t stay up till’ 11 (mountain time) to watch it, parents force kids to go to bed and parents have work, so they have to go to bed. Let’s face it, JERICHO OWNS! It’ll het brought back again, just watch, you will be writing articles again dammit. The reason it’s the most watched on the internet, recorded and watched on itunes, is because of this timeslot, but people are watching, just that everyone is too dumb to realize it.