'Idol' ratings down from last year
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Fox's "American Idol" returned as the nation's most popular TV series, but with 4 million fewer viewers than the 2007 season premiere. Tuesday's debut was seen by 33.4 million viewers, down 11 percent from the 37.4 million who watched the first show, according to preliminary ratings by Nielsen Media Research.
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"American Idol" fans have sent Antonella Barba to the next round of the talent contest, despite a thumbs-down from judges and Internet photos putting her at the center of the latest sex scandal to hit U.S. TV's most popular show.
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The tears flowed on "American Idol" Wednesday night as the show trimmed the competition to 24 semifinalists.
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Fox and NBC tied for the  demographic win in primetime, while CBS won in viewership  during the last week of the 2006-07 TV season, Nielsen Media  Research said Tuesday.
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CBS and NBC split leadership on this repeat riddled third week of December, with the Eye net first in households and total viewers, and NBC No.1 in the three surveyed demos -- adults 18-49, adults 25-54 (tied with CBS) and adults 18-34. NBC managed to build by minor proportions from one year earlier, while CBS, ABC and Fox were close to year-ago levels. Cellar-dweller the CW dropped by margins of 11 to 22 percent, meanwhile. In the battle of ABC's Duel versus NBC's Clash of the Choirs, the holiday themed Clash of the Choirs held an advantage each time.
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Ratings tumbled for the Billboard Music Awards, which Fox aired Dec. 8 from Las Vegas.
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The two-month-old writers strike took a significant toll on the âPeopleâs Choice Awardsâ on Tuesday as the taped, scaled-down version of the awards show on CBS lost nearly half its audience compared with a year ago, attracting just 6 million viewers from 9 to 11 p.m., Nielsen reported. A year ago, the showâs live broadcast averaged 11.3 million. For the night, CBS ranked third overall, trailing second-place Fox with its all-repeat lineup. NBC finished first, leading every hour of the night among adults 18 to 49 with a two-hour episode of âThe Biggest Loserâ (10.2 million), followed by âLaw & Order: Special Victims Unitâ at 10 (15.2 million). CW delivered its best Tuesday ratings since March thanks to âOne Tree Hill,â which averaged 3.5 million viewers from 8 to 10 in its fifth-season debut. ABC trailed CW in last place among adults 18 to 49.
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The return of âLost,â albeit a two-hour repeat of last seasonâs finale, buoyed ABCâs ratings on Wednesday during a night otherwise dominated by Foxâs âAmerican Idolâ and âThe Moment of Truth.â
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No more audition silliness. It's time to get serious on "American Idol." The Fox talent show trimmed down the competition Wednesday night, leaving 24 semifinalists &#151; 12 men and 12 women &#151; to vie for the "Idol" title and a record contract. The decision-making finale will be held in May.
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Confidence among US consumers has fallen to a 16-year low, a closely watched survey claims.
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Fox, which will effectively go on a one-month, prime-time entertainment-programming hiatus beginning this week with the start of its postseason Major League Baseball telecasts, is up low double-digit percentages in its ratings and viewers compared to last season.
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Fox dominated the ratings on Tuesday, thanks to two popular shows, âAmerican Idolâ at 8 p.m. and âHouseâ at 9. Those shows delivered 28.1 million and 22.5 million viewers, Nielsen estimated. A repeat of CBSâs âNCISâ at 8 attracted the nightâs third-largest audience (11.7 million). CBSâs all-rerun lineup tied NBC for runner-up on the night, but NBC fared better among adults 18 to 49 with âThe Biggest Loserâ at 8 (8.3 million) followed by âLaw & Order: Special Victims Unitâ at 10 (9.4 million). ABC finished fourth overall. On Monday President Bushâs final State of the Union address attracted the smallest audience of his two terms, 37.5 million viewers. That tally was 8 million fewer than a year ago, but 6 million more than President Clintonâs last State of the Union address in 2000. The speech was broadcast live at 9 p.m. on a total of nine network and cable channels.
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LOS ANGELES - When cable channel HBO tried to woo the Emmy Awards away two years ago, the networks fought back and won. Network executives could be rethinking the victory in light of the poor ratings posted by Sunday's ceremony, watched by the smallest audience since 1990...
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It's hard to imagine that the  producers of "American Idol" would want to tinker with the  show's formula following last season. After all, the hit  reality program -- a talent search for music's Next Big Thing  -- was 2006's top-rated TV series by a wide margin. But when  the "A.I." juggernaut returns for its sixth season January 16,  that's just what they'll be doing.
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"American Idol," for all its success, is not above tinkering Â especially after last year's revolving door of celebrity mentors and Sanjaya Malakar's improbable run.
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"American Idol" returns this week with a two-night, four-hour season premiere. (Michael Becker/Fox) Is âAmerican Idol,â televisionâs top-rated show, still as strong as ever? Last springâs season of the Fox reality juggernaut marked the first time that overall viewership declined from the previous year, Edward Wyatt noted in Mondayâs New York Times. But the singing competition [...].
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NEW YORK  - Viewers swarmed to NBC's "Singing Bee" on Tuesday night as Fox's telecast of baseball's All-Star Game dropped to near-historic lows.