They're baaaack. WTVJ-NBC 6's 11 p.m. newscast, which in February lost its lead for English-speaking viewers for the first time in three years, regained a decisive edge over WFOR-CBS 4 in statistics released Thursday by Nielsen Media Research.

WTVJ beat WFOR by a full ratings point, or about 16,000 households. During the February ratings sweeps, WFOR led by a tenth of a point.

The change of command at 11 p.m. was just one of several surprising developments during the month-long ratings period that ended Thursday:

THE BREAKDOWN

• Powered by staggering audiences for the hardball talent show American Idol, WSVN-Fox 7 finished first in prime-time viewing hours among English-language stations for the first time in years.

• WJAN-41, a Spanish-language station that has been little more than a flyspeck in the ratings until now, elbowed its way into a tie with WSCV-Telemundo 51 for sixth place in the late news ratings, and also made an unexpectedly strong showing in prime time. Ratings analysts said WJAN's rise was driven by a new news-talk show, María Elvira Confronta hosted by former Telemundo anchor María Elvira Salazar.

• For the first time ever, Spanish-language stations were No.1 and No. 2 in the ratings for 6 p.m. newscasts, with WLTV-Univisión 23 and WSCV leading the rest of the pack. Also, WLTV had the top-rated late newscast for the third time in a row and its biggest margin of victory yet.

BRAGGING RIGHTS

Officials at WTVJ bragged that their return to the top of the English-language heap at 11 p.m. was all the more impressive given the ratings slump for NBC's prime-time lineup, which finished third behind CBS and Fox.

''We didn't have American Idol -- I wish we did -- but we didn't need it,'' said Betty Frazier, WTVJ's research director. ``We were No. 1 in late news without it.''

Frazier, noting that WTVJ's 11 p.m. newscast piled up its biggest victories on Monday and Tuesday nights, said regular investigative reports and segments on how to cut household costs on those nights were clearly drawing viewers away from WFOR.

At WFOR, general manager Michael Colleran was philosophical, even though his station lost its leads among English-speaking viewers not only at 11 p.m. but also from sign-on to sign-off.

''We don't think we had a bad [ratings] book,'' said Colleran. ``We think we had a pretty good book. In the overall complexion of things, we actually did quite well.''

He noted that WFOR dominated early-morning and afternoon ratings and its early evening newscasts improved their numbers.

DOMINANT DUO

But the big story at 6 p.m. was the dominance of the Spanish-speaking stations. Between them, WLTV and WSCV had more than a fifth of the entire South Florida television audience at that hour.

''That shows you the real, increasing power of Hispanic television,'' said WSCV general manager Mike Rodriguez.

But for sheer ratings muscle, nothing matched American Idol. Wednesday's night's finale had 28 percent of the viewing audience in South Florida.

It was WSVN's highest-rated program since the 2002 Super Bowl and propelled the station to its first prime-time sweeps victory since at least 1995, which is as far back as WSVN keeps records.

''It's a show that just has wonderful life in the South Florida market,'' WSVN General Manager Robert Leider said.