President no match for 'American Idol'

President Obama provided some solid competition for "American Idol" in the prime-time ratings the week of Jan. 19-25.

ABC's "Neighborhood Ball," with performances from will.i.am and Stevie Wonder, was seen by 12.6 million people, according to Nielsen Media Research.

It competed directly against "American Idol" on Fox. "Idol" won, but its Tuesday night audience of 22.8 million was clearly affected by interest in the new president. Television's most popular show rebounded to draw nearly 26 million people the next night.

With an "Idol" lead-in, Fox's new series "Lie to Me" was watched by 12.4 million people in its Wednesday debut.

For the week, network averages were: CBS, 10.8 million viewers (6.8 rating, 11 share); Fox, 10.5 million (6.1, 10); ABC, 8.3 million (5.2, 8); NBC, 6.5 million (4.1, 7); CW, 1.7 million (1.1, 2); My Network, 1.7 million (1.0, 2); ION, 690,000 (0.5, 1).

In the evening news race: NBC "Nightly News," 10.1 million (6.6, 12); ABC "World News," 9.2 million (6.1, 11); "CBS Evening News," 7.1 million (4.7, 9).

ASSOCIATED PRESS

2 American Idol (Tuesday) (Fox)

3 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (CBS)

4 Two and a Half Men (CBS)

5 House (Fox)

6 CSI: Miami (CBS)

8 60 Minutes (CBS)

9 Criminal Minds (CBS)

10 Cold Case (CBS)

11 Neighborhood Ball (ABC)

12 Lie to Me (Fox)

14 24 (Fox)

15 Fringe (Fox)

16 Sunday Movie "Loving Leah" (CBS)

17 NCIS (CBS)

18 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC)