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Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Thurs., Feb. 25) -- four out of five for Idol over Olympics (updated)

By ED BARK
Fox's American Idol and NBC's Olympics had their final face-off at center ice Thursday. The Winter Games again had to settle for the silver.

Idol, with Season 9's first viewer vote-off edition, drew 407,178 D-FW viewers from 7 to 8 p.m. The Olympics had 325,742 viewers in that hour. That gives Idol four wins in their five D-FW head-to-heads, with only the Wed., Feb. 17th Olympics emerging with a gold opposite the Fox kingpin. These local results had been mirrored nationally until Thursday, when the Olympics edged Idol in the country at large.

NBC's Olympics coverage otherwise has outdrawn all competing programming as it nears the end of a 17-night run. On Thursday night in D-FW, the overall haul was 508,973 viewers, with a peak audience of 665,057 between 10:30 and 10:45 p.m. for the final minutes of the women's figure skating competition.

Over on MSNBC, the early evening gold medal women's hockey final between victorious Canada and the U.S. lured just 54,290 viewers.

In local news derby results, CBS11 swept the downsized three-way 10 p.m. competition with wins in total viewers and 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. But NBC5's late-starting late nighter (11:12 p.m. this time) again had more viewers in both ratings measurements than the 10 p.m. victor.

The 6 a.m. golds went to NBC5, with a gradually improving WFAA8 tying Fox4 for second in total viewers and winning the silver outright.

NBC5 won in total viewers at 6 p.m. and tied WFAA8 for first in that measurement at 5 p.m. Fox4 stayed solid with 25-to-54-year-olds, copping the golds at both hours.