TV Top Ten - American Idol Returns

The return of American Idol means Fox has once again secured its place in the top ten. With the exception of the AFC Championship game, which drew an untouchable 22 point rating with over 40 million viewers, the two premiere episodes of American Idol's eighth season ruled the charts.

Apart from the return of Simon Cowell, nothing else stood in the way of CBS' crime show lineup from continuing its death grip on the top ten. As other networks begin to launch their season premieres this week they may finally begin to loosen things up, but with the drop in ratings powerhouses like LOST experienced last season it could be a rough ride back to the top.

In the cable realm President Bush's farewell address took Fox News to the top. Almost five million tuned in to the network's coverage making it the only one of several cable groups running the speech to draw a crowd. Meanwhile, Monk, which debuted its new season the week before at number one, slipped to third place with only a slight drop in viewership. So far, however, his popularity hasn't been able to help elevate partner comedy and time slot chaser Psych to top ten level.

RANK PROGRAM NTWK RATING VIEWERS

NETWORK TELEVISION

1. AFC CHAMPIONSHIP ON CBS(S) CBS 22 40.645

2. AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY FOX 16.4 30.322

3. AMERICAN IDOL-TUESDAY FOX 15.8 30.424

4. AFC CHMP POST GAME ON CBS(S) CBS 14.5 25.441

5. CSI CBS 14.4 24.246

6. NCIS CBS 11.3 18.62

7. MENTALIST, THE CBS 11 18.069

8. TWO AND A HALF MEN CBS 10.2 17.102

9. CSI: MIAMI CBS 10.1 15.83

10. MENTALIST, THE - SUN SPCL(S) CBS 10 16.387

CABLE TELEVISION

1. PRES FAREWELL ADDRESS(S)-01/15/2009 FOXNC 3.1 4.855

1. WWE ENTERTAINMENT (WWE RAW) USA 3.1 5.411

3. MONK USA 3.1 4.941

4. WWE ENTERTAINMENT (WWE RAW) USA 3 5.086

5. ABC FAMILY ORIGINAL MOVIE(S)-01/18/2009 (ANOTHER CINDERELLA STY PR) FAM 2.9 5.296

6. ICARLY NICK 2.8 5.052

6. NCIS USA 2.8 4.206

8. THE OREILLY FACTOR FOXNC 2.8 4.241

9. SPONGEBOB NICK 2.7 4.243

10. NCIS USA 2.6 3.942

10. NCIS USA 2.6 3.956

10. NCIS USA 2.6 3.883

10. SUITE LIFE ON DECK DSNY 2.6 4.122