AMERICAN IDOL In Close Ratings Race With BIG BANG THEORY and ROB

CBS scored a technical win over AMERICAN IDOL this last Thursday among that coveted 18-49 age demographic. However, AMERICAN IDOL did manage to capture an overall estimated 16.99 viewers compared to THE BIG BANG THEORY which drew an estimated 15,.96 million viewers. ROB was the third strongest show on Thursday with an estimated 11.58 million viewers, or nearly four times as many viewers as PARKS & RECREATION on NBC.

Rob Schneider has to be pretty pleased that he finally has a hit comedy associated with him. Usually, the word "hit", and Rob Schneider usually never appear in the same sentence. Part of the appeal of the show is the funny relationship he has with the Mexican family of his Mexican wife, giving the show some appeal among the growing segment of Latin viewers. The show is becoming far more evenly written after after a jerky pilot episode that was critically panned. CBS is already proclaiming the show to be a "hit" in advertising. Another good sign is that the show's ratings have stabilized at the 11.5 million mark. proving that the show has found an audience. Signs look good at this point for CBS to possibly renew the show beyond the probable 8 episodes they bought.

Thurday was very good for both CBS and FOX, but terriblle news for NBC. ABC's reruns of WIPEOUT, GREY'S ANATOMY and PRIVATE PRACTICE also fared very poorly as well. ABC pretty conceded last thursday to the big CBS and FOX.