"The Voice" has ratings victory over "American Idol"

(CBS) "The Voice" is giving "American Idol" a run for its money. In the ultimate reality TV competition war, it seems the No. 1-rated TV show could be losing steam.

Fox's "American Idol" fell 16 percent in the ratings Wednesday night, finishing lower in the adult demographic than Monday's blind auditions episode of NBC's "The Voice."

"American Idol" attracted 15.9 million viewers with a 5.1 rating for adults 18-49 on Wednesday, while "The Voice" had 16 million viewers and a 6.0 rating in the same demographic.

It's still close, but the ratings dip could be a sign of things to come. Fox's long-running series is coming off eight years dominating the 18-49 demographic, so there's clearly still time for a ratings comeback.

Tell us: Which show do you like better: "American Idol" or "The Voice"?

Ratings: 'American Idol' Earns Lowest Rating Since Season 1

Fox's "American Idol" scored its lowest rating since the show's first season as CBS's "The Big Bang Theory" beat it decisively in the key demographic Thursday, according to preliminary numbers. CBS and Fox tied in the ratings as CBS grabbed more total viewers.

TheWrap reported Tuesday that NBCs "The Voice" is the top-rated show so far this season following eight seasons of "Idol" being television's top-rated series. Ratings like "Idol" scored Thursday won't help the show regain its crown.

Airing at 8 p.m., "Idol" was down 14 percent from last Thursday with a 4.4/13 and 15.4 million total viewers. It last scored a 4.4 rating for a first-season episode that aired on July 24, 2002. (It's worth noting, however, that "Idol" often gains slightly on its preliminary numbers.) ...

'Big Bang Theory' beats 'American Idol' outright for first time

For the first time in five years, another TV series has beaten American Idol outright in the Nielsen ratings to win the night.

After weeks of near-topples and ties, CBS’ The Big Bang Theory overtook Fox’s Idol on Thursday. And when it finally happened, the margin wasn’t small in the adult demo: Big Bang had 16.1 million viewers and a 5.2 rating in the adult demo, while Idol had 15.4 million and a 4.4 rating. Idol fell 14 percent from last week to a new low (clearly the strategy of draaaagging out revealing the Top 24 contestants didn’t work out).

Though there’s been “Big Bang tops Idol” headlines for weeks now, they’ve been based on somewhat premature math, slicing up Idol into half hours like it’s loaf of bread instead of a TV show. But now there’s no doubt: Another show beat Idol to win the night. It’s the first time a show has pulled that off since Grey’s Anatomy in 2007.

Plus, on the weekly charts, NBC’s The Voice will rank as the highest-rated series, since it topped Wednesday’s edition of Idol, which had a 5.1 to The Voice‘s 6.0.

Fox’s alternative president Mike Darnell previously told EW.com that if/when Idol was overtaken, the show would still retain enormous value for the network. “It would be nice to reign forever as No. 1,” Darnell said. “But if Idol ever becomes a second- or third-place show, it still has a much bigger impact and value than most other shows because it accounts for so many more hours. Obviously all shows come down, but to still be at this level is amazing, and we’re really grateful for that.”

'The Voice' Closes In on 'Idol'

Americans may be finding a new idol.

In the latest sign that the Fox reality juggernaut "American Idol" is in danger of losing its crown as the most-watched TV series in the U.S., about 15% fewer people between 18 and 49 years old watched its Wednesday-night episode than tuned into the Monday-night installment of NBC's "The Voice," according to Nielsen data provided Thursday by the two networks.

Such results have helped NBC's singing competition edge ahead of its Fox counterpart so far this season with the age group most coveted by advertisers. The trend holds even excluding the huge audience "The Voice" attracted when it made its season debut immediately after the Super Bowl.

About 6.2% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 49 who live in households with televisions have watched the three episodes of "The Voice" that have aired since the big game, according to NBC. That compares with the roughly 6% that Fox said have watched the 12 telecasts this season of "American Idol." News Corp. owns both Fox and The Wall Street Journal. NBC is controlled by Comcast Corp.

It isn't clear "American Idol" will be dethroned this season. The show still has among the very biggest overall audiences of any regular non-sports series, drawing an average 18.5 million viewers on the nights it airs, Fox said. "The Voice," according to NBC, has averaged 16.7 million viewers in its three episodes since Super Bowl Sunday. But unlike with "Idol," it remains relatively early in what is just the second season of "The Voice," making it less clear if its audience will hold at similar levels.

A Fox spokeswoman said that the Wednesday-night episodes of "Idol," which airs twice a week, generally garner a bigger audience than its Thursday telecasts. Using data only for the Wednesday broadcast of "Idol," the Fox show and "The Voice" remain tied in the ratings for viewers between 18 and 49, according to the data cited by Fox.

The network also says that comparing just the first three episodes of "Idol" this season with the three post-Super Bowl "Voice" episodes would show "Idol" remains on top. Fox executives have been saying for some time that they expect another ratings slide for "American Idol" this year, with the show now in its eleventh season. Still, the series is extremely important to the Fox network, bringing in $743 million in revenue in 2011, according to Kantar Media, an ad-tracking unit of WPP PLC.