Nielsens ratings for March 24 — 30

Broadcast: Top 20
Rank Season average Show name Network Viewers in millions
1. 2 American Idol (Wed) Fox 25.7
2. 1 American Idol (Tues) Fox 24.8
3. 4 Dancing With the Stars ABC 20.5
4. 8 Dancing With the Stars results ABC 17.5
5. 17 CSI: Miami CBS 16.1
6. 20 Two and a Half Men CBS 14.2
7. 17 60 Minutes CBS 13.4
8. 17 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition ABC 13.0
9. 48 Celebrity Apprentice NBC 12.1
10. X Deal or No Deal (Thurs) NBC 11.4
* 26 Oprah's Big Give ABC 11.4
12. 73 How I Met Your Mother CBS 10.7
13. 85 Dateline NBC 10.6
14. X Dancing With the Stars recap ABC 10.5
15. X NCAA: Louisville vs. USC CBS 10.4
16. 20 Deal or No Deal (Mon) NBC 10.1
* 11 Moment of Truth Fox 10.1
18. X 'Til Death Fox 10.0
19. 73 Primetime ABC 9.9
20. N/A Cold Case CBS 9.8
* N/A New Adventures of Old Christine CBS 9.8

Broadcast: Tops among 18-49-year-olds
Rank Season average Show name Network Viewers in millions
1. 2 American Idol (Wed) Fox 12.9
2. 1 American Idol (Tues) Fox 12.7
3. 20 Two and a Half Men CBS 6.8
4. 4 Dancing With the Stars ABC 6.6
5. 17 CSI: Miami CBS 6.4
6. 73 How I Met Your Mother CBS 5.9
* 17 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition ABC 5.9
* 48 Celebrity Apprentice NBC 5.9
9. X 'Til Death Fox 5.6
10. X NCAA: Louisville vs. USC CBS 5.2
* 11 Moment of Truth Fox 5.2
12. 26 Oprah's Big Give ABC 5.1
* 8 Dancing With the Stars results ABC 5.1
14. N/A New Adventures of Old Christine CBS 5.0
15. N/A NCAA Championships (Thurs, 10 p.m.) CBS 4.8
16. N/A Family Guy Fox 4.7
17. N/A The Simpsons Fox 4.5
* N/A The Big Bang Theory CBS 4.5
19. N/A NCAA Championships (Thurs, 7 p.m.) CBS 4.2
* 85 Dateline NBC 4.2
* 17 60 Minutes CBS 4.2
* N/A Don't Forget the Lyrics! Fox 4.2


Cable: Top 15
Rank Show name Network Viewers in millions
1. Kids' Choice Awards Nickelodeon 7.4
2. WWE Raw (Mon, 10 p.m.) USA 5.3
3. America's Best Dance Crew MTV 4.9
4. WWE Raw (Mon, 9 p.m.) USA 4.8
* The Hills MTV 4.8
6. High School Musical 2 Disney 4.4
7. Law & Order: SVU (Thurs, 9 p.m.) USA 4.1
8. Dance on Sunset Nickelodeon 3.7
* Braves vs. Nationals ESPN 3.7
10. Law & Order: SVU (Thurs, 10 p.m.) USA 3.6
* South Park Comedy Central 3.6
12. Walking Tall TBS 3.4
* Ella Enchanted Disney 3.4
14. Zoey 101 Nickelodeon 3.3
* Phineas Shorts Disney 3.3


•Idol down.American Idol's top-10 episode averaged 24.8 million viewers, a season low for a performance episode, and was down 5 million from the top-12 episode two weeks earlier. The results show Wednesday (25.7 million) outranked Tuesday's show for the first time this season.

•CSI high. CSI: Miami returned to CBS' Monday lineup with a season-high 16.1 million viewers. And Britney Spears — along with a new later time slot — boosted How I Met Your Mother (10.7 million) to its biggest audience in a year, and a series high among young adults.


•Piers peers. Piers Morgan (who?) won NBC's Celebrity Apprentice, as Trump's seventh-season finale scored 12.1 million, its biggest audience since the fourth-season ender in December 2005. Last spring's finale, on Sunday, drew 8 million.

•Kids chose Nick. Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Awards hit a record-high 7.4 million viewers Saturday, up from last year's 6.1 million, while the premiere of Dance on Sunset, which followed, claimed 3.7 million.

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