There’s only one man in our country who could make American Idol fall 25% in one week: Barack Obama. It’s assumed that coverage of the presidential inauguration is responsible for the program’s Week 2 decline. (If it isn’t, the show could be in serious trouble.) Meanwhile, Fringe still managed to benefit from AI’s lower numbers. The freshman series saw its second-largest audience to date.

8pm

• American Idol (22.4 million, 8.9/22 in 18-49) plunged 7.7 million.
• ABC’s Neighborhood Ball: An Inauguration Celebration (3.7/9) attracted 12.6 million.
• NCIS* (11.7 million, 2.3/6) was down 6.9 million.
• The Biggest Loser: Couples (10.2 million, 3.9/9) piled on 1.3 million more.
• 90210 (2.4 million, 1.1/4) improved by 200,000.

9pm

• Fringe (12.1 million, 4.7/11 in 18-49) was up 40% from its last outing.
• CBS’ Change & Challenge: The Inauguration of Barack Obama (1.8/4) pulled in 6.9 million.
• Privileged (1.7 million, 0.8/2) added on 600,000.

10pm

• The Mentalist* (10.5 million, 2.6/7 in 18-49) fell by 7.6 million.
• A Moment in History: The Inauguration of Barack Obama (2.9/7) drew in 9.5 million for ABC.
• NBC’s The Inauguration of Barack Obama (2.2/6) registered 6.2 million.

*denotes repeat

(You can review last Tuesday’s ratings here.)