In any language, ratings for Fox's World Idol were sucky.
The super-action team-up of 11 winners of American Idol-style competitions from around the globe, including inaugural U.S. champ Kelly Clarkson, was watched by just 6.5 million Stateside viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research. The two-hour special, broadcast on Christmas night, ranked 50th for the TV week ended Sunday.
The holiday time slot likely was World Idol's undoing. Nobody watches TV on Christmas, albeit more nobodies watched pro basketball on ABC (41st place, 7.2 million) and repeats of CSI (eighth place, 12.4 million) and Cold Case (22nd place, 9 million) on CBS.
Even a Fox repeat of the Yuletide special American Idol Christmas airing last Tuesday did better than World Idol--40th place, 7.3 million.
Alexander Klaws, the pride of the Netherlands, and his fellow Idols will get another shot at capturing the U.S. spotlight on Thursday, also known as New Year's, when Fox airs the concluding half of the World Idol competition. Elton John, the pride of the U.K., Las Vegas and all points in between, is set to guest star.
Elsewhere:
Michael Jackson's 60 Minutes declaration that sleeping with children is okay as long as one is not Jack the Ripper was watched by 18.8 million, making the CBS newsmag the week's most-watched show.
Siegfried Fischbacher's 20/20 declaration that Montecore the tiger was trying to help, not hurt, mauled partner Roy Horn was watched by 8 million on ABC (30th place).
An emotional Monday Night Football game with an emotional story line--Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre playing a day after his father's death--hooked 17.2 million (third place), and helped the ABC franchise close out its 33rd edition with its first season-long ratings gain in nine years.
The ABC miniseries Dreamkeeper entranced 9.8 million viewers (18th place) for Sunday's premiere. Preliminary ratings for Monday's concluding part show it ran second to CBS' lineup.
In a week replete with repeats, an all-new episode of ABC's 8 Simple Rules cracked the top 20--19th place, 9.4 million.
New episode or no, ABC's freshman crime drama Line of Fire could do no better than 57th place, with 6 million viewers.
The umpteenth network outing for The Sound of Music struck a chord with 7.9 million (33rd place) on ABC; the umpteenth-plus-one airing of It's a Wonderful Life played to 6.8 million (44th place) on NBC.
More people--10.7 million (13th place)--watched CBS' Sunday broadcast premiere of the 1998 Meryl Streep-Renée Zellweger tearjerker One True Thing than watched the film in theaters as paying customers, assuming its $23.2 million box-office take is translated into 4.9 million admissions.
Fox's Arrested Development, the upcoming subject of a Friday night mini-marathon on the network, couldn't get arrested last week--89th place, 3.2 million viewers.
Overall, CBS was the most-watched network of the little-watched holiday week, averaging 9.7 million viewers.
ABC, which claimed a rare victory among demographically desirable 18- to 49-year-olds, ran second with 8.1 million, followed by NBC (7.3 million) and Idol-ized Fox (6 million).
The WB edged UPN, 2.7 million to 2.6 million viewers.
Here's a rundown of the 10 most-watched shows for the week ended Sunday, according to Nielsen Media Research:
1. 60 Minutes, CBS, 18.8 million viewers
2. NFL Today (post game), CBS, 18.5 million
3. Monday Night Football, ABC, 17.2 million
4. CSI: Miami, CBS, 13.6 million
5. NFL Monday Showcase, ABC, 13.6 million
6. Everybody Loves Raymond, CBS, 13.4 million
7. Two and a Half Men, CBS, 12.6 million
8. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CBS, 12.4 million
9. Without a Trace, CBS, 12.2 million
10. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, NBC, 11.9 million