• by Wayne Friedman , February 12, 2007

CBS resumes its 8 p.m. time-slot leadership with "Survivor: Fuji"--but the race is getting closer.

Now, the oldest of the network reality shows pulled in a Nielsen preliminary 5.8 rating in adults 18-49 for its premiere--still a solid number, but down almost 10% from its 6.3 in its premiere a year ago.

"Survivor: Fuji"'s drop was good news for ABC--and its "Ugly Betty," which remains in second place in the time period, didn't get dinged at all, earning another steady 4.7 rating.

NBC, also in the hunt at 8 p.m., stayed the course as well--a 4.2 for "My Name is Earl" and a 4.4 for "The Office." NBC, however, fell steeply after that--"Scrubs" with a 3.1 and "30 Rock" at a smaller 2.5.

NBC perked up a bit at 10 p.m. with a win for "ER," which came in with a 4.8 rating among 18-49 viewers. But that race is getting closer. ABC with "Men in Trees" and CBS with "Shark" tied with a 4.1.

At 9 p.m., ABC keeps plugging on with another big performance from "Grey's Anatomy," pulling in a big 10.7 rating. The show that followed, "Men In Trees"--which continues to make progress in the 10 p.m. time period--earned a 4.1 rating, its best numbers so far.

For the night, ABC grabbed a 6.5 rating/16 share. CBS was next with a still-strong 5.6/14. NBC was farther down the list at 4.0/10. Univision came in third at 1.8/5.

Fox's struggles on Thursday continue; it was just behind Univision at a 1.8/4. Fox started out with its best results at 8 p.m. and fell from there. "'Til Death" took in a 2.0. Then at 8:30 p.m., "The War at Home" grabbed a 1.9. At 9 p.m., "The O.C." took in a 1.6, despite heavy promotion that the show was ending this month.

The CW was sixth at 1.5/4--coming from a 1.8 for "Smallville" and a 1.2 for "Supernatural."