'American Idol' Mines Diamond Tuesday

FOX rules night, 'Hell's Kitchen' hits series high in viewers

Zap2It.com

April 30, 2008

David Cook of 'American Idol'

Fast National ratings for Tuesday, April 29, 2008

FOX outshone its rivals in Tuesday's ratings, thanks to a night of Neil Diamond songs on "American Idol."

For the night, FOX earned a 10.8 rating/17 share. CBS took second with a 7.2/11, beating out ABC's 6.7/10. NBC, 4.2/7, came in fourth. The CW trailed with a 1.4/2.

FOX also dominated the adults 18-49 demographic with a 7.1 rating. ABC and CBS tied for second but were well off the pace at 2.4. NBC drew a 2.1, and The CW managed only a 0.9.

"American Idol" scored a 14.3/22 for FOX at 8 p.m., improving a smidge on its performance from last week. CBS was a solid second with "NCIS," 9.3/15. A pair of "According to Jim" episodes averaged 3.0/5 for ABC, which was good enough to beat the 2.3/4 for "Most Outrageous Moments" and "Saturday Night Live: The Best of Alec Baldwin" on NBC. "Beauty and the Geek" trailed for The CW.

ABC took the overall lead at 9 p.m. with the "Dancing with the Stars" results show, 11.2/17. FOX, however, had a substantial edge among adults 18-49 thanks to "Hell's Kitchen," 7.2/11. CBS dropped to third with the return of "Shark," 6.8/10. NBC's "SNL" special stayed in front of The CW's "Reaper" (1.6/2), but not by much.

The 200th episode of "Law & Order: SVU," with guest star Robin Williams, scored an 8.1/13 for NBC at 10 p.m. "Women's Murder Club" returned to ABC with a 5.8/10, bleeding about half its lead-in audience. A "CSI" repeat on CBS posted a 5.3/9.

Ratings information is taken from fast national data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are preliminary and subject to change.