TV Ratings: No Obama, no problem for FOX Wednesday

Matt Giraud of 'American Idol'

Credit: FOX

Fast National ratings for Wednesday, April 29, 2009.

FOX's decision not to air President Obama's Wednesday night press conference may not have paid any dividends, but airing "Lie to Me" instead certainly didn't prevent the network from scoring an easy ratings win.

Among adults 18-49, FOX averaged a 5.0 rating, comfortable ahead of the 2.6 rating for CBS and ABC's 2.4 rating in the key demographic. NBC's 1.7 rating and the 1.2 rating for The CW followed.

Overall, FOX averaged an estimated 14.86 million viewers to go with an 8.9 rating/14 share. CBS was second with a 6.8/11, topping the 4.4/7 for ABC and NBC's 4.3/7. The CW's 1.8/3 was good for fifth.

FOX won the 8 p.m. hour with a 4.8/8 for "Lie to Me," which also handily won the 18-49 demo for the hour. NBC's President Obama coverage had a 4.4/7, beating ABC and CBS' identical coverage. The CW's "America's Next Top Model" was fifth overall with a 2.6/4, but finished second in the 18-49 demo for the hour.

"American Idol" did its normal "American Idol" thing in the 9 p.m. hour, delivering a 13.0/20 for FOX. CBS' "Criminal Minds," featuring guest star Alex O'Loughlin, was second with an 8.4/13. The 100th episode of "Lost" on ABC had a 5.5/8. Repeats of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" on NBC and "90210" on The CW trailed.

CBS moved into first at 10 p.m. with an 8.1/14 for "CSI: NY." NBC's "Law & Order" had a 5.1/9 for second. ABC's "The Unusuals" was third with a 3.4/6.

All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.