American Idol lorded over everything as is typical, but Grey's Anatomy led the pack of scripted shows among adults 18-49. A bit of scripted domination with scripted shows taking fifteen out of the twenty top spots. In the battle between the J.J. Abrams Lost and the J.J. Abrams Fringe, Lost came out a couple of spots ahead among 18-49 year olds. And though CBS may skew old, it had the most show in the 18-49 top twenty with nine. FOX and ABC had four each. NBC had three, and none were in the top ten.
In overall viewing, NCIS was the top scripted show and the fourth most watched show overall behind American Idol and Dancing with the Stars. But while NCIS was fourth overall, it was only 19th among 18-49 year olds. I'm enjoying catching up on old episodes on USA Network though.
Michael J. Fox's return to broadcast in a special on the powers of optimism landed in the top 20 most-watched shows overall at exactly number 20. It did not place in the top 25 among adults 18-49.
Nielsen Top Twenty Shows Among 18-49 year olds for the week ending May 10, 2009:
| Rank | Shows | R=Repeat S=Special P=Premiere | Net | 18-49 rating | 18-49 Viewers (000) |
| 1 | AMERICAN IDOL-TUESDAY | FOX | 8.3 | 10,967 | |
| 2 | AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY | FOX | 8.3 | 10,967 | |
| 3 | Grey'S ANATOMY-THU 9PM | ABC | 5.4 | 7,087 | |
| 4 | TWO AND A HALF MEN | CBS | 5.0 | 6,553 | |
| 5 | DANCING WITH THE STARS | ABC | 4.8 | 6,394 | |
| 6 | HOUSE | FOX | 4.6 | 6,019 | |
| 7 | DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES | ABC | 4.1 | 5,469 | |
| 8 | RULES OF ENGAGEMENT | CBS | 4.1 | 5,464 | |
| 9 | CSI: MIAMI | CBS | 4.0 | 5,287 | |
| 10 | LOST | ABC | 4.0 | 5,280 | |
| 11 | OFFICE | NBC | 3.9 | 5,184 | |
| 12 | FRINGE | FOX | 3.8 | 5,075 | |
| 13 | SURVIVOR: TOCANTINS | CBS | 3.8 | 5,064 | |
| 14 | Law And Order:SVU | NBC | 3.7 | 4,842 | |
| 15 | Mentalist, THE | CBS | 3.6 | 4,786 | |
| 16 | Biggest Loser 7 | NBC | 3.6 | 4,743 | |
| 17 | HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER | CBS | 3.6 | 4,742 | |
| 18 | CSI | CBS | 3.6 | 4,724 | |
| 19 | NCIS | CBS | 3.4 | 4,546 | |
| 20 | Big Bang Theory, THE | CBS | 3.4 | 4,483 |
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Nielsen Top Twenty Shows (total viewing) for the week ending May 10, 2009:
| Rank | Shows | R=Repeat S=Special P=Premiere | Net | # Viewers (LIVE+SD) (000) | HH RATING (LIVE+SD) | HH SHARE (LIVE+SD) |
| 1 | AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY | FOX | 23,574 | 13.7 | 21 | |
| 2 | AMERICAN IDOL-TUESDAY | FOX | 23,414 | 13.4 | 21 | |
| 3 | DANCING WITH THE STARS | ABC | 20,278 | 12.6 | 19 | |
| 4 | NCIS | CBS | 16,723 | 10.4 | 17 | |
| 5 | Mentalist, THE | CBS | 16,678 | 10.4 | 16 | |
| 6 | Grey'S ANATOMY-THU 9PM | ABC | 15,546 | 10.3 | 16 | |
| 7 | CSI | CBS | 14,912 | 9.2 | 15 | |
| 8 | DANCING W/STARS RESULTS | ABC | 14,556 | 9.4 | 14 | |
| 9 | TWO AND A HALF MEN | CBS | 14,169 | 8.6 | 13 | |
| 10 | CRIMINAL MINDS | CBS | 14,128 | 8.9 | 14 | |
| 11 | CSI: MIAMI | CBS | 13,718 | 8.7 | 14 | |
| 12 | CSI: NY | CBS | 13,397 | 8.5 | 14 | |
| 13 | DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES | ABC | 12,293 | 7.7 | 12 | |
| 14 | HOUSE | FOX | 12,047 | 7.1 | 11 | |
| 15 | SURVIVOR: TOCANTINS | CBS | 11,993 | 7.0 | 12 | |
| 16 | COLD CASE | CBS | 11,838 | 7.2 | 12 | |
| 17 | WITHOUT A TRACE | CBS | 11,831 | 7.7 | 13 | |
| 18 | RULES OF ENGAGEMENT | CBS | 11,328 | 6.9 | 10 | |
| 19 | AMAZING RACE 14 | CBS | 10,490 | 5.9 | 10 | |
| 20 | MICHAEL J FOX SP-5/7(S) | S | ABC | 10,230 | 6.8 | 12 |
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Nielsen TV Ratings Data: ©2009 The Nielsen Company. All Rights Reserved.
All numbers are Live + SD (live, plus same day DVR viewing)
