• by Wayne Friedman , October 11, 2010

TV network advertising's main currency, C3 18-49 ratings, are out for the first week of the new season -- much of it in line with previous seasons' results versus their program ratings. The Nielsen Company says that among the top 25 shows, C3 ratings were anywhere from 2% to 7% under their respective live-plus-same day program ratings. C3 ratings are the average commercial minute of a show's live telecast, plus three days of DVR playback.

NBC's "Sunday Night Football" earned the best results during the initial Sept. 20-26 week: a 6.92 C3 rating. "SNL" had a 7.3 live-plus-same day program rating. That's a difference of 5%. ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" was second-best: a 5.11 C3 rating, with a 5.4 live-same day program rating, also a 5% difference.

Fox's "Glee" was next, but seemed to lose more viewers when the commercials appeared. Its C3 score was a 5.0 against a 5.6 live-same day-program rating, for a 12% drop. CBS' "The Big Bang Theory," another young-skewing show, also had a hard time keeping viewers around, with a 4.3 C3 rating against a 4.9 live-same day program rating -- a 12% drop.

Still, a handful of shows were at the same levels of their program ratings or exceeded them. (That's thanks to those two extra days' viewing that are included in the C3 numbers.)

For example, the fourth-best-rated show was Fox's "Family Guy," which registered a 4.73 C3 rating -- 5% more than its 4.5 live-same day program number. CBS' "The Mentalist" was also higher -- at a 3.46 C3 rating, 2% better than its 3.4 live-same day program rating.

Other shows that were equal or better than their program ratings: ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" earned a 4.4 C3 rating, the same as its live-same day program rating. CBS' "CSI" had the same C3 and live-same day program rating, at a 3.4.

Among the new shows, CBS' "Hawaii 5-0" -- the best program-rated rookie series -- scored the best results when it came to commercial ratings versus program ratings, down 1% to a 3.88 C3 rating from a 3.9 live-same day program rating.

Other weaker performers included "Desperate Housewives," with a C3 3.87 rating versus a 4.3 live-same day program rating, down 10%; CBS' "Undercover Boss," at a 3.4 C3 number, against a 3.8 live-same day program rating, 11% lower; and CBS' "Survivor: Nicaragua," with a 3.31 C3 rating against a 4.0 program rating -- a 17% difference.