• Media Life, Tuesday, January 9, 2007 11:45 AM

A much-fussed-over spat with Rosie O'Donnell couldn't help Donald Trump's ratings for the for the sixth-season premiere of "The Apprentice" on Sunday night. The show cratered to its worst-ever premiere among households.

"The Apprentice" averaged just a 4.1 rating among adults 18-49, according to Nielsen overnights, with 5.7 among households, down 8% from last year. The 90-minute premiere quickly shed 20% of its lead-in from "Grease: You're the One That I Want."

The show has now declined in every season since arriving on the scene in 2004, fronted by the supposedly business-savvy Trump. (Ironically, that was the same year that Trump managed to run his chain of casinos-- casinos, which rarely lose money--into bankruptcy. And for the second time.) NBC even kept the show off the schedule in the fall, hoping to build anticipation in a way that has worked for other reality programs.

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