• by Paul Gough , February 25, 2003

Riding the wave of Joe Millionaire’s finale last Monday, Fox finished up the primetime ratings week with the top-rated show and an impressive win in adults 18-49.

In data on the week ended Sunday released Tuesday afternoon by Nielsen Media Research, Joe Millionaire beat all comers and a special edition of the reality show came in third ahead of ER, the last episode of The Bachelorette, Survivor: Amazon, American Idol and even the Sunday night’s Grammy Awards.

CBS came out on top in the 22nd week of the 2002-03 TV season, with a 9.8/15, more than a ratings point ahead of second-place Fox (8.7/13) and third-place NBC (8.1/13). ABC came in fourth with a 6.6/10, with only the last episode of The Bachelorette and a special edition of The Bachelor in the top 25.

Among adults 18-49, Fox scored a heady triumph (6.9/17) ahead of CBS (5.2/13), NBC (4.6/12) and ABC (4.1/11). Although it looks like Fox will take the February sweeps in the key adults 18-49 demo, NBC still leads season-to-date with 4.6/12 to Fox’s 4.2/11, ABC’s 4.1/11 and CBS’ 4.0/11.

Among total households and persons, NBC led in top 10 shows (4), compared to CBS (3), Fox (2) and ABC (1). But CBS had a majority of top 25 shows (10), compared to NBC’s eight, Fox’s five and ABC’s two.

According to Nielsen Media Research, the top 10 programs for the week Feb. 17-23 were:

1. Joe Millionaire (Fox), 21.8/29.
2. CSI (CBS), 17/25.
3. Joe Millionaire Special (Fox), 16.6/23.
4. Grammy Awards (CBS), 14.7/23.
5. ER (NBC), 14.4/23.
6. Law and Order (NBC), 13.2/22.
7. The Bachelorette (ABC), 13/19.
8. Friends (NBC), 12.8/19.
9. Friends (NBC), 11.6/18. This was a repeat on Feb. 20.
10. Without a Trace (CBS), 11.6/18.

According to Nielsen Media Research, a single national household ratings point represents 1%, or 1.06 million households in the United States. There were an estimated 106.7 million TV households in the United States in September 2002.