Idol Down, But Fox Still Wins

Much was made in the industry trades this spring that AMERICAN IDOL's ratings were down this season. While the finale's numbers were on par with last year, the ratings for the run up to the final showdown were, indeed down.

But somehow all the gleeful naysayers managed to miss something rather important in TV land.

FOX as a whole was UP for the season - and not just because it aired the Super Bowl. Scripted fare like BONES and HOUSE mixed with smartly programmed stuff like MOMENT OF TRUTH and ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5TH GRADER more than made up for IDOL's slippage.

For the first time EVER, FOX finished a season #1 in total viewers. Now, there were plenty of factors in the victory, not the least being the writers' strike. But - FOX had to deal with it just like every other network. And they did a better job by going to their bench and developing imaginative game shows.

While CBS relied heavily on reruns of their scripted dramas, FOX threw in new shows like NEW AMSTERDAM and THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES.

And they won - without airing a single episode of 24.

Congrats to everyone at FOX. It took 20 years, but the revolution has finally arrived.

The tough news for the other nets for 2008-2009? Jack Bauer returns in November with a 2 hour TV movie, followed by 24 all-new hours starting January.

And word is, he's pissed.