TV Ratings: "Idol" Up; "On the Lot" Bombs

Steven Spielberg-produced FOX search for the next great movie director called "On the Lot" premiered last night with a disappointing 8,97 million viewers, that's less than half the audience "House" normally retains in the timeslot.

Series premieres normally score higher ratings because of initial sampling, so we can expect that number to go down.

With 24,51 million people watching the lead-in ("American Idol," top 2 finalists pictured above with songwriters of the winning tune) and 4 million people tuning out by 9:30 p.m. it is safe to state "On the Lot" has bombed.

Speaking of "Idol," the competition is up from last week, but down over 7 million viewers compared to the same night one year ago.

Elsewhere, the season finale of "Dancing with the Stars" pulled in 22,7 million viewers during the 9-11 p.m. telecast, a season-high for the increasingly popular series.

Tom Selleck's made-for scored 13 million viewers for CBS, a 2-million drop over last year's entry in the Jesse Stone series.

Over on The CW, the final two episodes of "Veronica Mars" scored 1,83 and 2,14 million people. Even The CW needs stronger numbers.

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