‘American Idol’ Just Beats CMT Music Awards in Demo, but CBS Dominates the Night

The CMT Music Awards made a splash on broadcast TV for the first time on Monday night, drawing in over 5 million total viewers during primetime. CBS easily secured the top ratings spot for networks, thanks to the impressive turnout for the country music celebration.

While the CMT Awards performed well, “American Idol” also had a strong showing, outpacing the CMT Awards in the 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. time slot with a higher rating. The ABC series scored a 0.68 rating compared to the CMT Awards’ 0.67.

Other networks also made their mark this week, with Fox and The CW returning with new offerings after a night of reruns the previous Monday.

CBS, which aired the CMT Music Awards from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m., led the major networks with a 0.67 rating in the key 18-49 demographic and an average of 5.3 million total viewers. ABC followed closely behind with a 0.59 rating and 4.9 million total viewers, with “American Idol” and “The Good Doctor” contributing to the network’s success.

Fox came in third with a 0.54 rating and 4.7 million total viewers, while NBC and The CW rounded out the rankings. Univision and Telemundo also saw success among Spanish-language networks, with Univision taking the top spot in ratings and total viewers.

Overall, it was a competitive night for network television, with each channel vying for viewers’ attention with a mix of music, drama, and reality TV offerings.