Ratings: ‘Idol’ Drops But Fox Still Tops; NBC’s ‘Whitney’ and ‘Chelsea’ Grow

Howie Mandel’s “Mobbed” rides “Idol” to a 123 percent surge

NBC's sitcoms "Whitney" and "Are You There Chelsea" enjoyed double-digit boosts Wednesday night, while Fox's "American Idol" gave Howie Mandel's "Mobbed" a massive boost and gave the network to a win for the evening, according to preliminary numbers.

"Idol," on Fox at 8, was down slightly from last week with a 9 percent dip, but was predictably the night's top-rated show. It had a 5.9 rating/17 share in the adults 18-49 demographic and 18.1 million total viewers. Those numbers proved beneficial to "Mobbed" the following hour. It received a 123 percent boost from its last airing two weeks ago, earning a 2.9/7 in the demo to take the night's second-highest ratings slot. "Mobbed" had 7.9 million total viewers. Overall Fox had the highest performance in the demo for the night with an average 4.4/12, and was also the most-watched network of the night with an average 13 million total viewers.

CBS took second place in the ratings for the night, despite running mostly repeats. The network started the night with "Super Bowl's Greatest Commercials" at 8, which drew a 2.1/6 in the demo and 8.6 million total viewers. "Criminal Minds" and "CSI" reruns fleshed out the night for the network, which received an average 1.9/5 in the demo and 8 million total viewers.

NBC and ABC tied for third in the demo for the night, with ABC running repeats and NBC's "Whitney" and "Are You There Chelsea" each growing 21 percent over the previous week. Both "Whitney" at 8 and "Are You There Chelsea" posted a 1.7/5 in the demo, with "Whitney" drawing 4.4 million total viewers and "Chelsea" receiving 4 million total viewers. The network ran repeats for the rest of the night.

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