Secret Millionaire , a hit British TV reality series that failed when a U.S. version was launched by Fox in 2008 -- it folded after six hour-long specials aired in December 2008 -- turned out to be a big hit when it landed on ABC on Sunday. The season debut captured 12.7 million viewers, beating the usual winner of the 8 00 p.m. time-slot, CBS's The Amazing Race , which drew 9.8 million viewers. The strong ratings for those two shows appeared to doom NBC's new series, also slated in that time period, America's Next Restaurant , which was watched by only 4.6 million viewers. The week, however belonged to Fox, which aired three editions of American Idol (instead of the usual two), with Thursday's drawing 25.26 million viewers. Among the evening newscasts, NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams remained well ahead of its rivals with 9.32 million viewers. ABC World News with Diane Sawyer followed with 8.47 million. And the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric continued to place third with 6.02 million viewers. For the week overall, Fox led among total adults with an average 6.5 rating and an 11 share, edging out CBS with a 6.2/10. ABC was third with a 4.1/7, while NBC was a distant fourth with a 3.5/6.

The top ten shows of the week according to Nielsen Research 1. American Ido l (Thursday), Fox, 13.8/23; 2. American Idol (Wednesday), Fox, 12.7/20; 3. American Idol (Tuesday), Fox, 11.7/18; 3. NCIS, CBS, 11.7/18; 5. NCIS Los Angeles, CBS, 9.5/15; 6. Criminal Minds , CBS, 8.6/14; 7. 60 Minutes , CBS, 7.8/13; 8. The Bachelor , ABC, 7.4/12; 8. (Tie) The Good Wife , CBS, 7.4/13; 8. (Tie) Secret Millionaire , ABC, 7.4/12.

09/03/2011