The New York Times-20080124--Idol- Outshines the Competition- -Brief-

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'Idol' Outshines the Competition; [Brief]

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The San Diego auditions of American Idol, with the usual mixture of the talented and the cringe-worthy, attracted 29.1 million viewers on Tuesday, lifting Fox with ease into first place in the night's ratings, Nielsen estimated. Although the show's third installment is down 4.6 million from the same night a year ago, it still had more than double the audience of any other network broadcast. Fox's rerun of House came closest, leading the 9 o'clock hour after American Idol with 14 million viewers. NBC's Biggest Loser, meanwhile, trailed both programs as runner-up during 8 to 10 p.m. among adults 18 to 49, averaging a modest 8.9 million viewers. NBC ranked second for the night, leading at 10 with Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (13 million). CBS was third, and ABC finished fourth.