Fast National ratings for Tuesday, April 29, 2008

FOX outshone its rivals in Tuesday's ratings, thanks to a night of Neil Diamond songs on "American Idol."

For the night, FOX earned a 10.8 rating/17 share. CBS took second with a 7.2/11, beating out ABC's 6.7/10. NBC, 4.2/7, came in fourth. The CW trailed with a 1.4/2.

FOX also dominated the adults 18-49 demographic with a 7.1 rating. ABC and CBS tied for second but were well off the pace at 2.4. NBC drew a 2.1, and The CW managed only a 0.9.

"American Idol" scored a 14.3/22 for FOX at 8 p.m., improving a smidge on its performance from last week. CBS was a solid second with "NCIS," 9.3/15. A pair of "According to Jim" episodes averaged 3.0/5 for ABC, which was good enough to beat the 2.3/4 for "Most Outrageous Moments" and "Saturday Night Live: The Best of Alec Baldwin" on NBC. "Beauty and the Geek" trailed for The CW.

ABC took the overall lead at 9 p.m. with the "Dancing with the Stars" results show, 11.2/17. FOX, however, had a substantial edge among adults 18-49 thanks to "Hell's Kitchen," 7.2/11. CBS dropped to third with the return of "Shark," 6.8/10. NBC's "SNL" special stayed in front of The CW's "Reaper" (1.6/2), but not by much.

The 200th episode of "Law & Order: SVU," with guest star Robin Williams, scored an 8.1/13 for NBC at 10 p.m. "Women's Murder Club" returned to ABC with a 5.8/10, bleeding about half its lead-in audience. A "CSI" repeat on CBS posted a 5.3/9.

Ratings information is taken from fast national data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are preliminary and subject to change.