The lowest-rated Academy Awards broadcast ever was still strong enough to claim the top spot in the week’s TV ratings, but ABC was beaten once again by Fox as "American Idol" claimed the next three spots in the ratings lineup.
For Households, Fox had an average rating of 8.8 and a 14 share, with ABC at 6.1/10, CBS 5.1/8, NBC 4.6/7, Univision 1.9/3, CW 1.6/2, MyNetworkTV 0.8/1, Telemundo 0.6/1, Ion and TeleFutura tied at 0.4/1 and Azteca America at 0.1/0.
In the key 18-49 demo, it was Fox way out ahead, then ABC, NBC, CBS, Univision, CW, Telemundo, MyNetworkTV, TeleFutura, and a tie by Azteca America and Ion.
Here are the week’s top 20 shows.
Nielsen Television Index Ranking Report
Network primetime (Live + SD) week of 02/18/08 – 02/24/08
| Rank | Program | Network | Rating | Share | Audience (000) |
| 1 | ACADEMY AWARDS(S) | ABC | 18.7 | 29 | 32006 |
| 2 | AMERICAN IDOL-TUESDAY | FOX | 16.4 | 25 | 29006 |
| 3 | AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY | FOX | 16.1 | 24 | 28885 |
| 4 | AMERICAN IDOL THU SP-2/21(S) | FOX | 13.4 | 21 | 23374 |
| 5 | OSCAR’S RED CARPET 2008(S) | ABC | 13.3 | 21 | 21536 |
| 6 | DEAL OR NO DEAL-MON | NBC | 10.0 | 15 | 16948 |
| 7 | WITHOUT A TRACE | CBS | 8.0 | 13 | 12086 |
| 8 | BARBARA WALTERS SP-2/24(S) | ABC | 7.7 | 13 | 11692 |
| 8 | CSI | CBS | 7.7 | 12 | 11923 |
| 8 | LOST | ABC | 7.7 | 12 | 13647 |
| 8 | TWO AND A HALF MEN | CBS | 7.7 | 12 | 12446 |
| 12 | LAW AND ORDER | NBC | 7.3 | 12 | 10858 |
| 12 | SURVIVOR: MICRONESIA | CBS | 7.3 | 11 | 12661 |
| 14 | DON’T FORGET THE LYRICS | FOX | 7.2 | 11 | 12431 |
| 15 | 60 MINUTES | CBS | 7.1 | 11 | 10690 |
| 15 | NCIS | CBS | 7.1 | 11 | 10853 |
| 17 | CSI: MIAMI | CBS | 6.3 | 11 | 9512 |
| 18 | FOX NASCAR SPRINT CUP | FOX | 6.2 | 10 | 10916 |
| 19 | DANCE WAR:BRUNO/CARRIEANN | ABC | 6.1 | 9 | 9162 |
| 19 | LAW AND ORDER:SVU | NBC | 6.1 | 10 | 9284 |
| 19 | OLD CHRISTINE | CBS | 6.1 | 9 | 9399 |
Source: Nielsen Media Research
