‘American Idol’ raking in big numbers for Fox

Not only is Fox’s “American Idol” dominating prime time again, it may help determine the fates of programs lucky or unlucky enough to be in its path.

The talent show took two of the three top spots in Nielsen Media Research’s top 10 last week, with only CBS’ “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” in its league.

The Fox series “House” has the good fortune to follow “American Idol” on Tuesdays. That has helped the freshman medical drama gain a solid footing; its 15 million viewers last week ranked it the 15th most popular prime-time show.

But the ABC comedies “George Lopez” and “My Wife and Kids” have the misfortune of being scheduled directly opposite “Idol” on Tuesdays and are suffering for it. They both had barely 6 million viewers last week, ranking Nos. 75 and 77 for the week.

NBC’s “The West Wing,” in the same Wednesday time slot as “American Idol,” has sagged despite the beginning of a new presidential campaign, reaching 9.6 million viewers last week.

One show that can’t blame its ratings woes on “Idol” is CBS’ “Joan of Arcadia.” The surprise rookie hit of last season had only 7.2 million viewers last Friday, a dramatic decline that means a show once thought to be a potential mainstay could be in trouble.

CBS still won the week with an average of 13.5 million viewers in prime time (8.7 rating, 14 share), and finished a close second to Fox among viewers aged 18 to 49.

NBC (7.0 rating, 11 share) and Fox (6.3, 10) both averaged 10.4 million viewers, while ABC had 10.1 million (7.2, 10), the WB 3.6 million (2.4, 4) and UPN 3.2 million (2.2, 3).

A ratings point represents 1,096,000 households, or 1 percent of the nation’s estimated 109.6 million TV homes. The share is the percentage of in-use televisions tuned to a given show.

The top 10 shows for the week ending Sunday: “American Idol” (Tuesday), Fox, 28.8 million; “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” CBS, 27.9 million; “American Idol” (Wednesday), Fox, 26.1 million; “Desperate Housewives,” ABC, 22.3 million; “Without a Trace,” CBS, 19.6 million; “Lost,” ABC, 19.5 million; “CSI: Miami,” CBS, 18.8 million; “Grammy Awards,” CBS, 18.8 million; “Everybody Loves Raymond,” CBS, 17.5 million; “ER,” NBC, 17.1 million.