• Ad Age, Tuesday, January 22, 2008 2 PM

The return of "American Idol" not only helped Fox nab first place in the ratings race last week -- the show could well help put the network on top for the entire season. "Idol's" seventh go-round pulled a 13.8 rating, with 33.2 million average viewers. That is down about 10% from recent years, but still beats every other record set this season.

This in an age of increased DVR use and slightly lower overall viewership levels. Further, the show has enough viewers to get hit with two 20% ratings drops in the next few weeks -- and still be the highest-rated broadcast network series.

"Fox has a problem every network wishes they had," says John Rash, senior vice president/director of media negotiations at Campbell Mithun. "'Idol' is experiencing erosion similar to other seminal series, in that no matter how strong it is, there's enviable erosion beginning around season five."

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