• by Wayne Friedman , October 30, 2006

For this past Thursday, it was game over for ABC and CBS.

Both networks decided to sit on the sidelines and offer up a mostly repeat schedule--especially for their respective big guns, "Grey's Anatomy" and "CSI." Both were up against a late-round game of the World Series, which always seems to deliver a big number in the baseball playoffs.

True to form, Fox won this Thursday night with a 4.5 rating/13 share. Still, it wasn't much of a defeat. ABC and CBS trailed, but with respectable results: ABC with a 4.1/11 for the night, and CBS with a 4.0/11.

Good news for CBS: the "CSI" 5.0/13 repeat outperformed a "Grey's" repeat with a 4.5/11. It's the first time since the Thursday head-to-head competition began that "CSI" beat out "Grey's."

Earlier in the night, ABC's "Ugly Betty" was able to tie CBS' "Survivor: Cook Islands" clip show with a 4.2/12 for a share of the win during the 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. hour.

Fox had the best program of the night, with the fourth game of the World Series earning a 5.1/15. "CSI" was next with a 5.0/13.

NBC also knew it was better to fight another day. "My Name is Earl," "The Office," and "ER" were all in reruns for the night. The network averaged a 3.0/8 for the evening.

The CW was next with new episodes of "Smallville" and "Supernatural"--which both grew in ratings week to week. The network came in with a 1.9/5 average for the evening.