Nellie Andreeva

Is the presence of two singing competition series on the schedule, NBC’s The Voice and Fox’s American Idol, taking a toll on Idol? Fox’s reality juggernaut last night (4.4/13 in adults 18-49, 15.4 million viewers) had a third consecutive airing that posted double-digit week-to-week ratings drops. Compared with last year, this week’s two episodes were both down more than 30%. Last night’s show was the lowest-rated in-season American Idol among adults 18-49. Overall, it had the lowest 18-49 rating since July 24, 2002 and the smallest audience since August 27, 2002 during the inauspicious first season of  the show, which launched with little fanfare in the summer. At 9 PM, The Finder (2.0/5) was down 9% from its last original two weeks ago. Fox (3.2/9, 10.8 million) finished the night tied with CBS (3.2/9, 13.7 million) in 18-49.

Some of CBS’ series recovered from last week’s losses. The Big Bang Theory (5.2/15, 16.1 million) was up two tenths from last Thursday’s fast national and ranked as the highest-rated and most-watched program of the night, beating Idol. And rookie Person Of Interest (3.1/8, 14.4 million) shot up 11% in 18-49 to tie ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy (3.1/8, 8.9 million) for the first time. The two ranked as the top dramas of the night and led the 9 PM ratings competition. On the negative side, CBS’ Rob (3.0/8) was down 8% to a series low, and The Mentalist (2.5/7) was down 7% to tie its series low. ABC’s Wipeout (1.5/4) was flat, while Private Practice (2.2/6) was down 15%.

NBC’s The Office (2.6/7) and Up All Night (1.8/4) also bounced back from last week’s ratings declines. The Office was up 13%, Up All Night 20%. 30 Rock (1.5/4) and Parks And Recreation (1.7/5) were flat, while a Grimm rerun at 10 PM rose by two tenths. We’ll see if that translates to a ratings increase for the show’s original tonight.

TV Editor Nellie Andreeva - tip her here.