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Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Wed., Feb. 22) -- Fox4, CBS11 split local news spoils while NBC again in prime-time toilet

By ED BARK
No longer all-powerful but still strong enough to get the job done, Fox's American Idol again emerged as Wednesday's most-watched prime-time attraction with 406,446 D-FW viewers in the 7 to 9 p.m. slot.

Its strongest opponent, CBS' 8 p.m. new episode of Criminal Minds, ran a solid second with 291,286 viewers while ABC's Modern Family drew a nice-sized 257,416 viewers.

Idol likewise prevailed among advertiser-favored 18-to-49-year-olds, with Modern Family a competitive second. Both NBC's The Voice and CBS' NCIS had larger overall audiences than Idol this week. The show revealed 14 of its 24 semi-finalists Wednesday, with 22-year-old Baylie Brown of Krum, Texas making the cut after falling short of this level five years ago in Idol's Season 6.

The 9 p.m. hour went to CBS' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation in total viewers (243,868) and Fox4's local news in the 18-to-49 demographic. In the cable arena, the late-starting (8:30 p.m.) Dallas Mavericks-Los Angeles Lakers game drew 128,708 total viewers on ESPN and 81,289 for the homegrown Fox Sports Southwest telecast.

NBC washed out all night in both ratings measurements. Three of its attractions -- Whitney, Are You There, Chelsea? and Rock Center with Brian Williams -- fell short of the 55,000 mark in total viewers. The two comedies also were buried by The CW's One Tree Hill.

In local news derby numbers, CBS11 continued to cruise toward what will be a decisive 10 p.m. win in total viewers at the end of the February "sweeps." It ran first in that measurement while also edging runner-up Fox4 among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.

Fox4 again swept the 6 a.m. competitions and added a pair of 6 p.m. wins. The 5 p.m. golds went to Fox4 in total viewers and CBS11 among 25-to-54-year-olds.

Five weekdays remain in the sweeps, which end on Wednesday, Feb. 29th.