Fail To The 'Chief,' Series Return Proves Less Than Commanding

Like its namesake, approval ratings for ABC's prime-time "Commander in Chief" are sinking. Well, its Nielsen ratings, anyway. After returning to a new 10 p.m. Thursday time slot after weeks of being on hiatus, "Commander" commanded only a 2.4 rating and a 7 share of the adult 18 to 49 audience, reaching 8.2 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research.

"Chief" couldn't hang with CBS' powerful "Without a Trace," which delivered a 5.7 rating and a 16 share in the 18-49 demo, grabbing 18.6 million viewers. It couldn't even keep pace with a repeat of NBC's "ER." "ER" grabbed a 2.6 rating and a 7 share. "Commander" did pull in more viewers than "ER," which averaged 6 million viewers.

CBS, again, owned the night, averaging a 6.1 rating and an 18 share of adults 18 to 49 and 19.2 million viewers overall.

"CSI" took its usual top honors of the evening with a 7.5 rating and a 21 share among 18- to 49-year-olds, while "Survivor" also did its usual trick, winning the 8-9 p.m. hour, as usual, with a 5.1 rating and a 17 share in the demo.

NBC was a distant second place, with all-repeat programming, while ABC ranked third with the return of "Commander" and a two-hour episode of Fox's "American Inventor."

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