The two-hour series finale of "One Tree Hill" gave the CW its best Wednesday night ratings since November, while "American Idol" gave Fox a predictable overall win for the night, according to preliminary numbers.
Fox, with a primetime roster consisting entirely of "Idol," took first place in the advertiser-prized 18-49 demographic and total viewers with an average 4.7 rating/14 share and 16.7 million total viewers.
CBS took second place in the demo and total viewers with an average 2.8/8 and 11 million. "Survivor" at 8 p.m. posted a 2.7/8 in the demo and 10.1 million total viewers, while "Criminal Minds" the following hour drew a 3.0/8 in the demo and 11.2 million total viewers. At 10, "Crime Scene Investigation" posted a 2.9/8 in the demo and 11.9 million total viewers.
ABC came in third in ratings and total viewers with an average 1.3/4 in the demo and 3.8 million. The network ran repeats with the exception of "Happy Endings" at 9:30, which drew a 1.6/4 in the demo and 3.7 million total viewers.
NBC drew fourth place in the demo and total viewers with an average 1.0/3 and 3.6 million. The premiere of prank show "Betty White's Off Their Rockers" at 8 posted a soft 1.8/6 in the demo and 7.2 million total viewers. But it still scored a 12-week high in the timeslot for the network, and earned NBC's best ratings of the night. "Best Friends Forever" premiered at 8:30, not faring as well with a 1.2/3 in the demo and 3.9 million total viewers. "Bent" at 9 was flat compared to last week with a 0.9/2 in the demo and 2.4 million total viewers, while a second airing of the freshman comedy at 9:30 slipped to a 0.7/2 in the demo and 2 million total viewers. "Rock Center With Brian Williams" at 10 closed the night with a 0.8/2 in the demo and 1.4 million total viewers.
At the CW, the two-hour finale of "One Tree Hill" from 8 to 10 gave the network its best Wednesday-night ratings in the demo since Nov. 30, a 0.8/2. The "One Tree Hill" finale drew 1.4 million total viewers.
