• by Paul Gough , February 4, 2003

Boosted by top 10 numbers in two limited-arc reality series, Fox won in the key adults 18-49 demo and came within 0.6 of a ratings point of winning in this week’s primetime viewership according to data released Tuesday by Nielsen Media Research.

For the week ended Sunday, NBC edged CBS by one-tenth of a rating point and tied in share for total households and viewers. NBC earned a 8.1/13, compared to the 8/13 garnered by CBS. CBS still leads the season-to-date with an 8.4/14 compared to NBC’s 7.8/13. ABC is in third place for the season-to-date with a 6.7/11, ahead of Fox’s 5.8/9.

But Fox, boosted by two showings of American Idol and a Joe Millionaire during the week, found itself way ahead in adults 18-49. Fox delivered a 6/15, well ahead of the perennial leader in the category, NBC, which earned a 4.7/12. ABC came in third (3.6/10) and CBS came in fourth (3.5/9).

Season-to-date NBC is still in the lead (4.6/12), followed by ABC (4.1/11), CBS (4/11) and Fox (3.9/11).

This season’s leading program, CSI (CBS) remained on top with a 16.6/24 although a new episode of Friends (16.3/25) delivered a better total household share.

Other notable programs not in the top 10 were NBC’s analysis of the State of the Union, which landed in 14th place (9.7/14); ABC’s The Bachelorette in 16th place (9.1/13) and The Simpsons in 25th place (8.2/12). Two debuts made the top 25, ABC’s Dragnet (8.7/14) and Kingpin (8.2/12).

For the week of Jan. 27-Feb. 2, Nielsen Media Research’s top 10 programs were:

1. CSI (CBS), 16.6/24.
2. Friends (NBC), 16.3/25.
3. American Idol – Wednesday (Fox), 14.3/21.
4. ER (NBC), 14.3/23.
5. American Idol – Tuesday (Fox), 13.7/20.
6. Joe Millionaire (Fox), 12.1/17.
7. CSI: Miami (CBS), 11.2/18.
8. Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS), 11.1/16.
9. Scrubs (NBC), 11.1/17.
10. Without a Trace (CBS), 10.8/17.

A single national household rating point represents 1.06 million households.