"American Idol" slipped a tad in the ratings, but "Glee" remained strong for Fox — even without the power of Madonna.
Despite one of the lowest-ever adults 18-49 ratings yet for an "Idol" perfomance show(6.6/9 in preliminary fast national Nielsen numbers), "Glee" matched its week-ago performance in the demo (5.3/14). The musical could go down a tad when finals are released ("Idol," as ever, ran over; it’s number could go up in the finals).
Still, "Glee" is now officially TV’s No. 1 new scripted series in adults 18-49, Fox said.
(Read also: ‘Glee’ is Sucking the Energy Out of ‘American Idol’)
Meanwhile, the gap between "Idol" and ABC’s "Dancing with the Stars" results show continues to narrow in overall viewers. The latter averaged just under 16 million viewers Tuesday, while "Glee" brought in 18.8 million. (It’s not even a race in adults 18-49, with "DWTS" averaging a 2.3/7, its lowest-rated results show ever).
Elsewhere in the ratings Tuesday, it was mostly a night of down arrows.
With ABC bumming out "Lost" fans with a repeat (a repeat!!) before the show begins its final four countdown, "V" sank below a 2 rating to its lowest-yet results (1.9/5).
But CBS’s "The Good Wife," with a substantially stronger "NCIS: Cool J" (3.2/8, one of the few shows to add viewers) lead-in, only earned a 2.2/6. "Parenthood," meanwhile, won the 10 p.m. hour with a 2.4/7 (down a big 17 percent vs. last week off of a weakened "Biggest Loser" lead-in).
Translation: The "V" with a "Lost" repeat lead-in number wasn’t great. But with nothing else doing gangbusters Tuesdays at 10, ABC might want to breathe deeply before killing the visitors.
UPDATED 12:47 TO CORRECT INCORRECT VIEWER FIGURES FOR "DANCING," WHICH ACTUALLY AVERAGED JUST OVER 12 MILLION VIEWERS
