• by Wayne Friedman , October 18, 2006

All eyes are seemingly on "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip"--just not enough TV viewers' eyes. NBC's high-profile show dipped again to a 3.1 in adults 18-49 on Monday night. All this after a hopeful week when the show moved up to a 3.8 from a 3.4, as a result of the growing success (and lead-out) of another rookie NBC show, "Heroes."

"Heroes" couldn't save "Studio 60" this time--dropping 18 percent, which landed it in third place for the night. Still, for NBC, "Heroes" with a 5.7 and its steady game show "Deal or No Deal"--which grew to a 5.2--helped the network to a Monday night win among 18-49 viewers, with a 4.7/12.

CBS was a close second with 4.5/11. The network's venerable performers continued earning steady viewership numbers: "Two and a Half Men," a 5.1; "The New Adventures of Old Christine," a 4.1; and "CSI: Miami" a 5.8.

Now, for first the four weeks of the season, "Heroes" has been challenging--if not topping--"CSI: Miami" as Monday's highest-rated show in 18-49 viewers. "CSI: Miami" has been the top scripted show in the demo on Mondays for three years running.

CBS easily won the 10 p.m. time slot. The nearest competitor to "CSI" was ABC's "Brian" at 3.5, which grew from its premiere. Next was NBC's "Strip" at 3.1, and then Univision's "Cristina" at 1.1.

For the night, ABC came in at third place with a 3.3/8 for the evening. Its three shows, "Wife Swap," "The Bachelor: Rome," and "What About Brian "were models of consistency--offering nearly identical ratings for the evening, with a 3.3/9, a 3.3/8 and a 3.2/8, respectively.

With a rainout of its League Championship Series, Fox threw up some "House" reruns, which offered little scoring--a 1.5/4 for the evening.

That was barely enough to beat The CW, which grabbed a 1.3/3 for the night with its comedy block of four shows--all former UPN shows--which returned to Monday.

The new night pushed up the CW's 18-34 ratings by 15 percent to a 1.5/4, and an 8 percent rise in adults 18-49 to a 1.3/3, versus the previous Monday night of CW dramas "7th Heaven" and "Runaway."