TV Ratings: 'American Idol' and 'Touch' Preview Top Fox, Helgenberger Exits 'CSI' on High Note

Brian Bowen Smith/FOX

American Idol continued its expected drop-off from last week's premiere, losing 9 percent of its showing among adults 18-49 from last Wednesday's 8:00 p.m. hour -- a 13 percent drop from its total take during the two-hour premiere. Last night's one-hour auditions episode brought in a 6.4 rating in the demo, making way for a strong preview of Kiefer Sutherland's Touch.

The series, which has yet to receive a full marketing push and doesn't officially premiere until Mar. 19, benefited from its lead-in, scoring Fox's top drama debut of the season with a 3.9 among adults 18-49. Terra Nova and Alcatraz drew a 3.2 and 3.3, respectively. It marks the net's strongest drama debut since 2009's Lie to Me and only trails ABC's Once Upon a Time (4.0) as the strongest demo premiere of the current season. Altogether, Fox averaged a triumphant 5.2 in the demo and 15.7 million viewers for the night.

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CBS saw a boost from Marg Helgenberger's final episode on her veteran procedural. CSI drew a 3.3 rating in adults 18-49 and 14 million viewers, both season highs. Its lead-in, Criminal Minds, gave CBS' strongest showing of the night with a 3.6 in 18-49-ers, placing the network second for the night in the demo (2.9) and viewers (11.8 million).

The ABC Wednesday comedy block and Revenge were all repeats, giving the net a 1.5 in adults 18-49 and 4.4 million viewers.

ABC's encores didn't help NBC much. New episodes of Whitney and Are You There, Chelsea? were down, both earning a 1.4 rating among adults 18-49. They were followed by back-to-back repeats of Law & Order: SVU, giving the network a 1.3 in adults 18-49 and 3.98 million viewers.

On the CW, One Tree Hill brought in a 0.7 in adults 18-49, making for a 0.5 for the night when averaged with an encore of Remodeled.

Wednesday, Jan. 25, Overnight Ratings:

8 p.m.
Fox: American Idol (19.5 million viewers, 6.4 rating among adults 18-49)
CBS: Criminal Minds (R) (7.9 million, 1.7)
ABC: The Middle (R) (5.3 million, 1.5)
NBC: Whitney (4.5 million, 1.4)
The CW: One Tree Hill (1.5 million, 0.7)

8:30 p.m.
ABC: Suburgatory (R) (4.2 million, 1.4)
NBC: Are You There Chelsea? (3.9 million, 1.4)

9 p.m.
FOX: Touch (preview) (11.9 million, 3.9)
CBS: Criminal Minds  (13.7 million, 3.6)
ABC: Modern Family (R) (6.5 million, 2.5)
NBC: Law & Order: SVU (R) (3.8 million, 1.2)
The CW: Remodeled (R) (659,000, 0.3)

9:30 p.m.
ABC: Happy Endings (R) (4.0 million, 1.7)

10 p.m.
CBS: CSI (14.8 million, 3.3)
NBC: Law & Order: SVU (R) (4.0 million, 1.4)
ABC: Revenge (R) (3.1 million, 0.9)