• by Wayne Friedman , February 14, 2007

CBS is breaking the rule that launching a traditional sitcom needs lots of patience.

For the second week of its existence, CBS' "Rules of Engagement," starring perennial wise-guy David Spade, offered up a healthy 5.0 plus ratings among 18-49 viewers. (It was down a tick from the week before.) Better still, it gained in an even bigger area, earning ratings higher than its lead-out programming.

"Rules" earned a hefty 5.0 Nielsen preliminary rating among 18-49 viewers, 0.1 better than the 4.9 of CBS' longtime comedy anchor "Two and a Half Men."

It was also Fox's night to shine, grabbing a 4.9 rating for two-hours worth of "24." For the night, Fox averaged a 5.0 rating/12 share--just nipping CBS with a 4.9/12.

NBC pulled in with a decent third-place outing: a 4.6/11. Its rookie sensation, "Heroes" continued its winning ways at 9 p.m. with a 6.3 rating. NBC's 10 p.m. show, "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," slipped from a low 3.0-plus ratings recently to a 2.8 number.

CBS continued to power up during the 10 p.m. hour, leading with a 6.4 for "CSI: Miami," the highest-rated show of the evening.

ABC was in fourth at a 3.5/9. Good news: Both "Wife Swap" and "Supernanny" hit season-highs: "Swap" with a 3.7 and "Supernanny" with a 4.1. At 10 p.m., "What About Brian" grabbed a 2.7, just barely missing out on tying "Studio 60."

Univision came in fifth at 1.9/5, with its best coming from a 2.1 for the first half of a two-hour "La Fea Mas Bella." CW was sixth at 1.2/3, with "Girlfriends" leading the way, getting to a 1.3 rating.