Half-Hour Idol Enough For FOX Ratings Win

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FOX, on the strength of American Idol, took advantage of their rival’s airing repeats to take Wednesday’s ratings battle.

For the night, FOX averaged a 9.2 rating/14 share, soundly beating ABC’s 7.2/11. CBS and NBC shared third at 6.5/10. UPN managed fifth at 2.5/4, and The WB was last at 1.5/2.

A repeat of “Lost” won the 8 p.m. hour for ABC with a 7.9/12. FOX managed a 6.3/10 from back-to-back episodes of “That ’70s Show,” finishing slightly ahead of Dan Rather’s CBS send-off. The first Wednesday airing of “American Dreams” posted a 4.6/7 for NBC, about equal with the show’s season average. “America’s Next Top Model” scored a 3.4/5 for UPN.

At 9 p.m., “American Idol,” 15.7/23, combined with “The Simple Life 3,” 8.5/13, gave FOX a huge lead. NBC was second with “The West Wing,” 6.8/10. “Alias” managed a third for ABC with a 6.4/10. CBS fell back to fourth with a “King of Queens” repeat, 5.5/8, and “Yes, Dear,” 6.2/9. A repeat of “Kevin Hill” kept UPN in fifth, well ahead of The WB’s “Jack & Bobby” repeat.

A “Law & Order” rerun moved NBC into first at 10 with an 8.2/14. A “CSI: NY” rerun on CBS managed 7.4/12, tying it with ABC’s “Primetime Live” special featuring an interview with model and tsunami survivor Petra Nemcova.

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