Good News: TV Ratings Just as Bad as Ever!

Networks not severely affected by writers' strike; Fox's "Idol" easily dominates the week in viewers

The writers' strike did a lot of damage. But it didn't kill the network TV audience.

YouTube, knitting or whatever else it is that keeps people from hunkering down in front of Friday Night Lights already did.

From the first week of the strike back in November through last weekend, when a new labor deal was announced, the big four broadcast networks lost, on average, less than half-a-million viewers.

That's about as many as they've lost over the entire season, even the parts that featured new episodes of CSI, Grey's Anatomy and Heroes.

To be sure, the strike hit some networks harder than others.

When the walkout started, ABC was averaging 11.6 million weekly viewers, Nielsen Media Research stats show. By the time the pickets signs were put down, it was 2 million viewers lighter.

CBS likewise was a big loser, falling from 12.2 million viewers to 11.1 million. 

While it's not accurate to say NBC couldn't get much lower, it didn't. The fourth-place network held steady, averaging 8.8 million viewers when the strike began, and 8.7 million when it all but ended. 

Thanks to the Super Bowl, American Idol and a polygraph, Fox tacked on 1.5 million viewers, growing to 11.08 million, and just about moving into a first-place tie for the season with CBS.

Fox did its thing without a single hour of 24, which, per E! Online TV columnist Kristin Dos Santos, won't be back until next year.

The good news for CBS and ABC is that they won't have to do their collective thing much longer without fresh episodes of CSI, Grey's Anatomy and Desperate Housewives--all three hit shows are expected to get rolling again shortly.

As for NBC, Heroes probably won't be back this spring, and Bionic Woman probably won't be back ever. Howie Mandel, however, is forever.

Here are last week's other rating highlights:

• Tuesday's American Idol (first place, 27.9 million) was down again; Wednesday's Idol (second place, 26.3 million) was up. Both were way bigger than everything else, save House (third place, 23.2 million), which only too happily aired after Tuesday's Idol.
• Is it the Grammys' problem that its ratings were on the low side? Or is it TV's problem that the third least watched Grammys of all-time  ranked higher than 224 other broadcast network shows (fourth place, 17.2 million)? 
• The series didn't go head to head, but in the Thursday night battle of the castaways, ABC's Lost (seventh place, 15.3 million) edged the season premiere of CBS' Survivor: Micronesia (eighth place, 14 million).
• According to CBS, an all-new Old Christine (21st place, 9.4 million) was the "week's second most watched comedy" after, um, an all-old Two and a Half Men (12th place, 12.3 million). 
• At least CBS was happy enough with Old Christine to brag. It was the silent treatment for its other all-new sitcom, Welcome to the Captain (34th place, 7.9 million). 
• NBC's Lipstick Jungle (41st place, 7.5 million) "pulled off a time-period win in key adult-female demos." Overall, the new series pulled off a third-place finish behind a repeat of CBS' Without a Trace (14th place, 10.2 million) and ABC's fading Eli Stone (25th place, 8.8 million).
• Season finale or no, NBC's Friday Night Lights (63rd place, 5.2 million) got beat again by knitting.
• Natalee Holloway, as seen on ABC's 20/20 special (11th place, 12.7 million), was the week's biggest gone-missing newsmaker. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, as seen on CBS' 60 Minutes (10th place, 13.1 million), were the biggest still-here newsmakers.
• Among the broadcast networks, NBC had the super-est Super Tuesday for its prime-time election coverage (64th place, 5.2 million). In cable, CNN averaged 3.7 million viewers to Fox News' 3.5 million.
• Bravo's Project Runway (3.6 million) wasn't just cable's most watched reality series, it was cable's most watched series, period.
• Before Runway's ratings to go Christian's head, it should be pointed out that nothing was bigger in all of cable than USA's Monday night wrestling, which averaged 5.1 million for two hourlong episodes. 
• Other top cable performers: Nick's Zoey 101 (3.5 million); USA's Psych (3.5 million); and FX's Nip/Tuck (3.3 million).

Overall, Idol, sorry, Fox easily won the week in total viewers (12.4 million) and 18- to 49-year-olds.

CBS (9.6 million), ABC (8.2 million) and NBC (7.6 million) followed.

The CW (2.3 million) decided its top show, Friday Night Smackdown (75th place, 4.6 million), didn't fit in with the rest of its little watched lineup. 

In cable, USA (2.55 million), Disney Channel (2.5 million) and TNT (2.2 million) were the top prime-time networks.

Here's a look at the 10 most watched broadcast network prime-time shows for the week ended Sunday, according to Nielsen Media Research:

1. American Idol (Tuesday), Fox, 27.9 million viewers
2. American Idol (Wednesday), Fox, 26.3 million viewers
3. House, Fox, 23.2 million viewers
4. 50th annual Grammy Awards, CBS, 17.2 million viewers
5. The Moment of Truth, Fox, 16.6 million viewers
6. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, ABC, 15.8 million viewers
7. Lost, ABC, 15.3 million viewers
8. Survivor: Micronesia, CBS, 14 million viewers
9. Deal or No Deal (Monday), NBC, 13.2 million viewers
10. 60 Minutes, CBS, 13.1 million viewers