American Idol, a Taylor Swift fueled CSI and a mind-changing Bachelor led overall weekly viewing. We only saw the top 25 shows with adults 18-49 for the week. Among the top twenty 18-49 shows, there were eight shows that didn't make the overall list below, including Lost, The Office, Hell's Kitchen and The Big Bang Theory.
Nielsen Top Twenty Shows by viewers for the week ending March 8, 2009:
| Rank | Shows | R=Repeat S=Special P=Premiere | Net | # Viewers (LIVE+SD) (000) | HH rating ( LIVE+SD) | HH SHARE (LIVE+SD) | 18-49 Rank |
| 1 | AMERICAN IDOL-TUESDAY | FOX | 24,309 | 13.8 | 21 | 1 | |
| 2 | AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY | FOX | 22,776 | 13.1 | 21 | 2 | |
| 3 | AMERICAN IDOL THU SP-3/5(S) | S | FOX | 21,498 | 12.2 | 19 | 3 |
| 4 | CSI | CBS | 20,875 | 12.7 | 20 | 6 | |
| 5 | BACHELOR:AFTER FINAL ROSE(S) | S | ABC | 17,466 | 11.4 | 18 | 4 |
| 6 | BACHELOR, THE | ABC | 15,477 | 10.0 | 15 | 5 | |
| 7 | TWO AND A HALF MEN | CBS | 15,469 | 9.2 | 13 | 7 | |
| 8 | NCIS | R | CBS | 13,667 | 8.6 | 13 | |
| 9 | DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES | ABC | 13,646 | 8.7 | 13 | 9 | |
| 10 | CSI: MIAMI | CBS | 13,418 | 8.6 | 14 | 16 | |
| 11 | 60 MINUTES | CBS | 13,309 | 8.6 | 15 | ||
| 12 | Mentalist, THE | R | CBS | 12,631 | 8.1 | 12 | |
| 13 | COLD CASE | CBS | 12,617 | 7.8 | 12 | ||
| 14 | ELEVENTH HOUR | CBS | 12,050 | 7.8 | 13 | ||
| 15 | SURVIVOR: TOCANTINS | CBS | 11,850 | 7.0 | 11 | 17 | |
| 16 | RULES OF ENGAGEMENT | P | CBS | 11,822 | 7.2 | 10 | 14 |
| 17 | 24 | FOX | 11,139 | 6.5 | 9 | 25 | |
| 18 | HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER | CBS | 11,094 | 6.6 | 10 | 12 | |
| 19 | GHOST WHISPERER | CBS | 11,090 | 6.9 | 13 | ||
| 20 | BACHELOR:AFTR FINAL ROSE2(S) | S | ABC | 10,903 | 7.4 | 12 | 13 |
Nielsen RatingsData: ©2009 The Nielsen Company. All Rights Reserved
All numbers above based on live plus same day DVR viewing.
