ON TUESDAY, ‘THE BIGGEST LOSER’ GAINS 50 PERCENT IN 18-49 AND 34 PERCENT IN TOTAL VIEWERS FROM ITS FIRST HALF-HOUR TO ITS FOURTH, DESPITE HEAD-TO-HEAD COMPETITION WITH A TWO-HOUR ‘AMERICAN IDOL

”THE BIGGEST LOSER: COUPLES’ IS THE BIGGEST ‘LOSER’ CYCLE IN BOTH 18-49 AND TOTAL VIEWERS SINCE THE FIRST ‘BIGGEST LOSER’ IN 2004-05

‘THE BIGGEST LOSER: COUPLES’ GAINS 11 PERCENT IN ADULTS 18-49 AND 17 PERCENT IN TOTAL VIEWERS VERSUS LAST YEAR

* On Tuesday, “The Biggest Loser: Couples” gained 50 percent in 18-49 rating and 34 percent or more than 2.3 million persons in total viewers from its first half-hour to its fourth, despite competition from “American Idol.” In its second hour from 9-10 p.m., “Biggest Loser” ranked #2 in adults 18-49, behind only “Idol,” topping ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” results show and CBS’s first-run telecast of “The Mentalist.”

* “The Biggest Loser: Couples” is up 11 percent in 18-49 and 17 percent in total viewers versus its year-ago cycle. Through 11 weeks, the current, seventh cycle of “The Biggest Loser” is the biggest “Loser” cycle in both adults 18-49 and total viewers since “The Biggest Loser 1″ in the 2004-05 season.

On Tuesday, March 17 from 8-10 p.m. ET, “The Biggest Loser: Couples” (3.2/9 in 18-49, 8.0 million viewers overall) tied for #2 in its time period in adults 18-49 (with CBS’s dramas) and was #2 outright in adults 18-34 and other key demographics, behind only “American Idol.”

From its first half-hour to its fourth, “Loser” gained 50 percent in 18-49 rating (to a 3.9/10 from a 2.6/8) and 34 percent in total viewers (to 9.2 million from 6.9 million). In its second hour from 9-10 p.m., “Biggest Loser” ranked #2 in adults 18-49, behind only “Idol” and topping ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” results show and CBS’s “The Mentalist.”

“The Biggest Loser: Couples” is up versus its year-ago cycle by 11 percent in 18-49 (4.0 vs. 3.6, “most current”) and 17 percent in total viewers (10.2 million vs. 8.7 million) versus the same weeks last year, while the Tuesday edition of “Idol” is down 17 percent in 18-49 (10.1 vs. 12.2, “most current”) and down 13 percent in total viewers (26.6 million vs. 30.7 million).

Through 11 weeks, the current, seventh cycle of “The Biggest Loser” is the biggest “Loser” cycle in both adults 18-49 (averaging a 4.0/10) and in total viewers (10.2 million) since “The Biggest Loser 1″ in the 2004-05 season.

Source: NBC Press Release