TV Ratings: "American Idol" Hits Season Low

The descent of FOX's blockbuster singing competition continued on Tuesday night as "American Idol" performance show hit its season low of 24,49 million viewers losing over a million week-to-week.

Last year at this time the show scored a much stronger 29 million viewers. Its lead-out "House," on the other hand, is doing very well with full retention in the 18-49 demo. The medical drama pulled in 21,55 million total viewers.

CBS's "NCIS" posted a solid 13,73 million at 8 p.m., but "Idol's" other competitors weren't that lucky ("Dateline," NBC, 5,02 million; "George Lopez," ABC, 4,7 million). Time to say goodbye to George.

"Dancing with the Stars" stood up well against "House" at 9 p.m. with 16,47 million, while "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" continues to fade (6,94 million.)

Although its lead-out SVU, topped the 10 p.m. slot with 10,9 million ("Boston Legal," 10,29 million) that was a season-low for the Law & Order franchise.

Over on The CW, second to last "Gilmore Girls" scored 3,96 million, but its lead-out "Veronica Mars" hit season low of 1,88 million viewers.

The CW president is reportedly impressed with the show creator's pitch for the next season which should fast-forward the series several years. Is her enthusiasm sufficient to warrant the next season after these truly hideous numbers?

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