• by Wayne Friedman , November 28, 2005

It was a day off for most of us last Thursday, but it was all work and no play for CBS--as it continues to dominate the night, and looks to have the inside track to win the November sweeps.

Posting an average 6.9 rating/20 share for adult viewers 18-49 for the night with its usual killer lineup of "Survivor," "CSI," and "Without a Trace," CBS was far and away the winner on Thanksgiving day. As usual, there was much less viewing for the holiday night. CBS itself was down from the 7.7/20.

Still, the other networks didn't seem to put up a fight.

ABC and Fox tried to make it a go with movies--ABC with "Finding Nemo" and Fox with "Daddy Day Care." But nothing seemed to work.

ABC came in second place with a 2.9/8, and Fox landed in fourth with a 2.1/8. ABC actually improved some from a 2.2/5 numbers from the Thursday before. Fox was down slightly from the 2.3/6 numbers of the previous week.

The biggest loser of the evening was NBC. It tried double running "The Apprentice" at 9:00 p.m. and at 10:00 p.m., but that didn't give it much punch--only posting a 2.8/6 for third place for the evening. This was a mild upset for ABC, since NBC typically still earns second-place numbers to CBS on Thursdays. NBC was down from a 5.1/13 from the week before.

For the WB and UPN, it seemed like a night off. The WB sank to a 0.7/2 from a 2.0/5 from the week before, from "Smallville" and "Everwood" reruns. UPN was also knocked down a peg to the same 0.7/2. UPN had a 1.5/3 the week before.

For the start of the holiday weekend, Wednesday night, ABC continued its winning ways with a 4.7/13 for adult viewers 18-49; CBS was next with a 3.6/10; Fox had a 2.9/8; and NBC grabbed a 2.5/7. UPN virtually doubled up on the WB, getting a 1.5/4 to 0.8/2 for the WB.