Idol Marches On

[Brian Damage]

Drawing an average of 24.6 million viewers, “American Idol” on Fox dominated Wednesday night’s ratings, according to Nielsen’s estimates, as “Idol” narrowed its remaining contestants to 24 semifinalists. Fox easily led the night over all, winning the 9 p.m. time slot after “Idol” with its new game show “The Moment of Truth” (14.5 million). NBC ranked a distant second, faring best at 8 with “Deal or No Deal” (11 million) and at 10 with “Law & Order” (10.2 million). ABC finished third among adults 18 to 49, thanks to a strong showing for that demographic from “Supernanny” at 9 (8.8 million). CBS, in fourth place among the 18-to-49 set, edged past ABC in total viewers with repeats. At 8, however, “Big Brother” on CBS attracted a disappointing 5.8 million viewers.