• by Wayne Friedman , February 27, 2009

Fox's "American Idol" scored big on a rare Thursday appearance--although not at its usual large viewer numbers.

"Idol" took a Nielsen preliminary 7.1 rating/19 share at 8 p.m., down from the typical 9-plus rating scores it gets on its usual Tuesday and Wednesday appearances. The "Idol" schedule was pushed around this week because of the presidential address on Tuesday,

With the "Idol" arrival, some networks ran for cover, but others soldiered on bravely.

CBS' "Survivor: Tocantins"--the usual big winner in the 8 p.m. time period--was down a bit, 10%, to a still-respectable 4.0/11. ABC's "Ugly Betty" wasn't so lucky--off 20%--down to its lowest numbers ever: a 1.9/5. So, too, was NBC's "Kath & Kim," plunging to a series low 1.5/4 at 8:30 p.m.

NBC tried to partially save the time period, offering a 1.4/4 for the movie "Kung Fu Panda: Furious Five." CW stuck in a "Smallville" repeat during the time period and pulled a 0.7/2.

Once the smoke had cleared, it was back to business for the networks at 9 p.m. Fox's "Hell's Kitchen" was able to tie CBS' "CSI," in part because of the big "Idol" lead-in audience. Both "Kitchen" and "CSI" earned a 4.3/11.

ABC and NBC went into repeats at 9 p.m., with ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" at a 2.2/6, and NBC doing a bit better with "The Office" at a 2.4/6.

At 10 p.m., NBC earned top marks for "E.R."--now closing in on its final episodes--with a 3.4/9. CBS' "Eleventh Hour" earned a 2.9/8, coming in second place in the time period.

For the night, Fox had a 5.7/15 among 18-49 viewers; CBS was at a 3.7/10; NBC, a 2.5/7; ABC, a 1.9/5; Univision, a 1.6/4; NS and CW, a 0.7/2.