Viewers Ages

Today: Television Top network shows Viewers ages 18-49 For the week ended Sunday: 1 Hell's Kitchen Fox, 4.5 million viewers 2 America's Got Talent (Tue.) NBC, 4.1 million 3 Big Brother 11 (Tue.) CBS, 3.9 million 4 The Big Bang Theory CBS, 3.5 million 5 Big Brother 11 (Sun.) CBS, 3.5 million Prime time, networks Average viewership, season to date: 1 CBS 9.9 million viewers 2 Fox 8.0 million 3 ABC 7.4 million 4 NBC 6.8 million 5 Univision 3.7 million Source: Nielsen Media Research

As "American Idol" winds down its 11th season, it's time to ask: Is Fox's smash singing contest losing the kids? For years, "Idol" was TV's unrivaled ratings champ, and a big part of its success lay in its appeal to young people, who made it their No. 1 TV choice for years. But this year, critics are attacking the show as increasingly stodgy while viewership has plunged more than 30% among teens and 20-somethings. And many of those viewers have gone to NBC's "The Voice," a hipper and sexier upstart that has much younger judges and often edgier songs.

CBS won the prime-time television rankings race for the 13th time in the season's 14 weeks in part due to a strong showing by "60 Minutes," which was the week's second most-watched show. "60 Minutes" began 53 minutes later than scheduled in the Eastern and Central time zones but averaged 15.74 million viewers, thanks in part to the strong lead-in from CBS' NFL coverage, including the New York Jets ending the Indianapolis Colts' bid for an undefeated season. Only NBC's "Sunday Night Football" game between the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins averaged more viewers among prime-time television shows broadcast from Dec. 21 through Sunday, according to figures released Tuesday by the Nielsen Co. In a week with little original programming and customarily low viewership because of the Christmas holiday, CBS averaged 9.11 million viewers for its prime-time programming, with eight of the 10 most-watched shows.

CBS won the prime-time television rankings race for the 13th time in the season's 14 weeks in part due to a strong showing by "60 Minutes," which was the week's second most-watched show. "60 Minutes" began 53 minutes later than scheduled in the Eastern and Central time zones but averaged 15.74 million viewers, thanks in part to the strong lead-in from CBS' NFL coverage, including the New York Jets ending the Indianapolis Colts' bid for an undefeated season. Only NBC's "Sunday Night Football" game between the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins averaged more viewers among prime-time television shows broadcast from Dec. 21 through Sunday, according to figures released Tuesday by the Nielsen Co. In a week with little original programming and customarily low viewership because of the Christmas holiday, CBS averaged 9.11 million viewers for its prime-time programming, with eight of the 10 most-watched shows.

"American Idol" and "Dancing With the Stars" swept the week's top four spots, but CBS had nine of the next 11 most-viewed programs to be the most-watched network for the eighth consecutive week. It was the 25th time in the season's 31 weeks that CBS came out on top, according to figures released Tuesday by Nielsen Media Research. In a week that began with a heavy amount of reruns and ended with four days of May sweeps programming, CBS averaged 9.21 million viewers for its prime-time programming between April 20 and Sunday.

ALTHOUGH some viewers tuned out before the end of the hour, the premiere of Fox's legal drama "Justice" was a winner among the young adult audience the network covets. The opening half-hour won its 9-9:30 p.m. time slot Aug. 30 with 9.13 million viewers, but the audience declined 6% to 8.6 million in the second half-hour. In the same period, viewership for a rerun of CBS' "Criminal Minds" grew 7% to 9.33 million, enabling it to win the hour by averaging 9.01 million viewers versus 8.

Today: Television for the week that ended Sunday Top network shows Viewers ages 18-49 1 Sunday Night Football (Chargers/Steelers) NBC, 9.8 million viewers 2 Grey's Anatomy ABC, 8 million 3 House Fox, 7.6 million 4 Sunday Night NFL Pre-Kick NBC, 7.2 million 5 The Big Bang Theory CBS, 6.9 million -- Top cable shows All viewers 1 Monday Night Football (Panthers/Cowboys) ESPN, 15.7 million viewers 2 Suite Life on Deck (8 p.m. Fri.)

"American Idol" and "Dancing With the Stars" swept the week's top four spots, but CBS had nine of the next 11 most-viewed programs to be the most-watched network for the eighth consecutive week. It was the 25th time in the season's 31 weeks that CBS came out on top, according to figures released Tuesday by Nielsen Media Research. In a week that began with a heavy amount of reruns and ended with four days of May sweeps programming, CBS averaged 9.21 million viewers for its prime-time programming between April 20 and Sunday.