• by Wayne Friedman , October 12, 2007

ABC is gaining some distance from NBC on Wednesday--as its new dramas improve or maintain, more or less, their viewers.

ABC's new "Pushing Daisies" won its 8 p.m. time slot with a 3.7 rating/11 share, according to Nielsen preliminary program data--although it drifted some 14% below its rating of the previous week.

Better news came at 9 p.m., where its "Private Practice" number jumped up 7% to a 4.9/13. All this while main competitor, NBC's "Bionic Woman," continued to slip some--down 5% to a still-healthy 3.9/10 number.

Even ABC's critically mixed "Dirty Sexy Money" had a good story to tell, dropping just 5% to come in at a 3.3/9 number.

All that gave ABC an average 4.0/11 rating for the night. That placed it a little more than a half-rating point ahead of an improving CBS, which came in with a 3.3/9.3. NBC was just behind, with a 3.3/9.0.

Good and bad news for CBS's "Kid Nation"--while advertisers are stepping up for the show, now believing the controversy may have been overblown, its numbers slipped again to a 2.1 rating/6 share. But given the probable low license fees on the reality program, CBS could conceivably attempt to offer to run another edition of the show, perhaps in the summer.

At 10 p.m., CBS gained a bit more ground with "CSI: New York"--up to a 4.1/11, over ABC's "Dirty Sexy Money," which has been coming in at second place. Also at 9 p.m., CBS has been able to pull even with "Bionic Woman" at a 3.9/10, for second place.

It wasn't just "Bionic Woman" that suffered--NBC's other new show "Life" has now descended to a 2.7/8 rating. The better news for the network was at 8 p.m. with "Deal or No Deal," which has seen its best numbers in some time with a 3.1/9.

Fox had a mixed night: At 9 p.m., "Kitchen Nightmares" was at a 3.0/8, up for a second straight week. But its freshman show, "Back to You" at 8 p.m., sank again to a 2.3/7. Fox had an average 2.6/7 for Wednesday night.

CW had a pretty good night. "America's Next Top Model" improved to 2.5/7 numbers, and climbed 12% among 18-34 viewers. For "Gossip Girl," numbers among 18-49 viewers were flat at a 1.3/3. CW came in with a 1.9/5 for the night.