Thanks to the Winter Olympics, NBC found itself in the rare position of standing on the victor's platform in the weekly ratings race. Friday's coverage of the opening ceremonies was the most-watched program of the week, attracting 33 million viewers. Third place went to Sunday's coverage of the competition, with 26.4 million viewers; fourth, to Saturday's, with 26.2 million. But the No. 2 most-watched show of the week was a competition of a different sort -- Fox's American Idol., which landed 27.9 million viewers. Wednesday's Idol came in at No. 5 with 25.2 million. For the week NBC averaged an 8.9 rating and a 14 share. CBS placed second with a 6.5/10. Fox was in third place with a 5.8/9, while ABC trailed with a 4.1/7. Worth noting On Friday Spanish-language Univision was the second-most-watched broadcast network in primetime, behind NBC's Olympics coverage.

The top ten shows of the week according to Nielsen Research 1. Winter Olympics Opening Ceremonies, NBC, 17.3/30; 2. American Idol (Tuesday), Fox, 15.1/23; 3. Winter Olympics (Sunday), NBC, 14.3/23; 4. Winter Olympics (Saturday), NBC, 14.0/25; 5. American Idol (Wednesday), Fox, 13.6/21; 6. NCIS, CBS, 11.8/18; 7. NCIS Los Angeles , CBS, 10.9/16; 8. Two and a Half Men, CBS, 10.5/16; 9. The Mentalist , CBS, 9.8/17; 10. The Big Bang Theory, CBS, 9.7/14.

18/02/2010