Via Mediaweek
American Idol led the 9 pm hour for FOX last night. However, for the night, Idol led in the 18-49 demo, while CBS led in the number of viewers:
It was a Thursday of mixed leadership, with CBS the most-watched network and the home of American Idol, Fox, No. 1 among adults 18-49. The live American Idol Results Stood well above anything else last night, with a hefty 19.31 million viewers and a 6.5 rating/19 share among adults 18-49 from 8-9 p.m. As correctly predicted, John Park, Jermaine Sellers and Haeley Vaughn were sent packing last night, with unexpected Michelle Delamor the fourth to depart. American Idol led into Kitchen Nightmares, which squandered the lead-in support with a fourth-place finish in both total viewers (8.09 million) and adults 18-49 (3.3/ 9) at 9 p.m. Comparably, retention for Kitchen Nightmares out of the second half of American Idol (Viewers: 20.71 million; A18-49: 7.1/20 at 8:30 p.m.) was just 39 percent in total viewers and 46 percent in the demo.
Of course, FOX will maintain that winning the demo is all that matters. Yes, if you’re under 18 or over 50, advertisers couldn’t care less what you watch…
