Led by TV’s number-one show, CBS continued its half-point lead in household ratings and beat NBC in adults 18-49 in the week ended Sunday, according to Nielsen Media Research.
A new episode of CSI
on its regular night topped all primetime programs in a week that also included a primetime football game and several reality-based programs hitting the top 25. NBC and CBS both had four of the top 10
shows, and Fox and ABC had one each.
In the 16th week of the TV season, CBS earned a 9.9 rating and a 16 share in total households, handily defeating NBC (8.4 rating/13 share) and third-place Fox
(7.0 rating and 11 share). ABC came in fourth with a 5.5 rating and 9 share, while The WB had a 2.6 rating and 4 share and UPN had a 2.4 rating and a 4 share. Pax registered a 0.9 rating and a 1
share.
In adults 18-49 for the week, CBS again carried the lead with a 5.1 rating and a 13 share. Fox came in second with a 5.2 rating and a 13 share, followed by NBC with a 4.8 rating and a 12
share and ABC with a 3.3 rating and an 8 share.
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With the exception of Saturday night’s NFC playoff game between Atlanta and Philadelphia, every other top 10 show were first-run, regularly scheduled
programs. In the top 25, only the People’s Choice Awards were a special and nothing was a repeat.
Three premieres, all reality-based programs, were included in the top 25. ABC’s The Bachelorette
registered an 11.2 rating and a 17 share in its first night to take 10th place. It was followed by Fox’s Joe Millionaire, which earned an 11.1 rating and a 16 share. Star Search, which CBS rescued
from the syndicated scrap heap, premiered in 25th place with an 8.5 rating and a 13 share.
Nielsen Media Research’s Top 10 primetime programs in households:
- CSI (CBS), 15.5/24.
- Friends
(NBC), 15.2/24.
- NFC Playoff (Fox), 14.8/25.
- ER (NBC), 13.7/23.
- Law and Order (NBC), 13.2/22.
- Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS), 12.5/18.
- 60 Minutes (CBS), 12.1/18.
- CSI: Miami
(CBS), 11.6/19.
- Scrubs (NBC), 11.3/18.
- The Bachelorette (ABC), 11.2/17.