Idol Trumps Oscar
Although the 80th Annual Academy Awards was the least viewed ever, it still took the top spot on the weekly top 20 broadcast shows list. But it could not hold the top spot in the 18-49 demo, being beat out by not one, but both regular (Tuesday & Wednesday) airings of American Idol and landing in third.
We predict that ad rates for the Oscars will go down…and that ad rates for American Idol will go up. OK, it would have been a lot bolder to predict that before the Oscars aired, but still.
Full 18-49 demographic top 20 for the week ending February 24, 2008:
| Rank | PROGRAMS | NET | P18-49 RATING (LIVE+SD) | # OF PERSONS 18-49 (LIVE+SD) (000) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AMERICAN IDOL-TUESDAY | FOX | 11.3 | 14,757 |
| 2 | AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY | FOX | 11.2 | 14,662 |
| 3 | ACADEMY AWARDS(S) | ABC | 10.7 | 14,050 |
| 4 | AMERICAN IDOL THU SP-2/21(S) | FOX | 8.5 | 11,077 |
| 5 | OSCAR'S RED CARPET 2008(S) | ABC | 6.3 | 8,317 |
| 6 | LOST | ABC | 5.7 | 7,458 |
| 7 | DEAL OR NO DEAL-MON | NBC | 5.2 | 6,834 |
| 8 | DON'T FORGET THE LYRICS | FOX | 4.8 | 6,334 |
| 9 | TWO AND A HALF MEN ( R) | CBS | 4.1 | 5,363 |
| 10 | FOX NASCAR SPRINT CUP | FOX | 4.1 | 5,329 |
| 11 | SURVIVOR: MICRONESIA | CBS | 4.1 | 5,324 |
| 12 | MY DAD IS BETR THN YR DAD | NBC | 3.5 | 4,570 |
| 13 | BIGGEST LOSER 5 | NBC | 3.3 | 4,377 |
| 14 | LAW AND ORDER:SVU (R ) | NBC | 3.3 | 4,343 |
| 15 | OLD CHRISTINE | CBS | 3.3 | 4,328 |
| 16 | BARBARA WALTERS SP-2/24(S) | ABC | 3.2 | 4,227 |
| 17 | APPRENTICE 7 | NBC | 3.2 | 4,221 |
| 18 | TERMINATOR: SRH CNR CHRON | FOX | 3.2 | 4,172 |
| 19 | LAW AND ORDER | NBC | 3.1 | 4,097 |
| 20 | PRISON BREAK | FOX | 3.1 | 4,035 |
Nielsen Ratings Data: ©2008 Nielsen Media Research, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
