• by Paul Gough , January 28, 2003

Thanks to one of the strongest ratings performances for a Super Bowl in a while, ABC ran to victory in the latest rankings by Nielsen Media Research.

Three Super Bowl-related broadcasts were the top three programs for the week, with the Super Bowl itself scoring a 40.7 rating and a 61 share. The post-gun coverage, at 10:18 p.m. Sunday, received a 33.1/50 and the post game a few minutes later registered a 23.4/38.

Fox’s three episodes of American Idol plus an episode of Joe Millionaire helped it in the ratings, and the week’s most-watched regularly scheduled program was again CSI, a repeat on Thursday nights.

ABC’s 11.7 rating and 18 share in total households handily beat the rest of the competition, with CBS coming in second place with a 7.2/11. NBC came in fourth with a 7.1/11 and NBC followed with a 6.6/10. For the season-to-date, CBS holds a more than five-tenths of a point lead against NBC (8.4/14 compared to 7.8/13).

In 18-49 adults, ABC’s Super Bowl coverage helped it gain by far the biggest ratings. ABC received a 9.1/22 and Fox came in second with a 5.6/13. NBC came in third with a 4/10; CBS earned a 3/7. The WB had a 1.8/4 and UPN delivered a 1.5/4. Season-to-date, NBC leads by more than half a ratings point with a 4.5/12, compared to second-place ABC’s 4.1/11 and CBS’s 4.0/11. Fox has a 3.8/10.

CBS had 10 of the top 25 programs with several repeats during the week, including CSI, CSI: Miami and Everybody Loves Raymond. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (15.2/23) was first in households, viewers and most key adult demographics – and was Thursday's top rated and most watched program in viewers, households, adults 18-49 and adults 25-54.

NBC had six of the top 25 programs, ABC had five top 25 programs (including three Super Bowl-related) and Fox had four of the top 25 (all in the top 10).

The top 10 programs for the week ended Sunday were:

1. Super Bowl XXXVII (40.7/61).
2. Super Bowl Post-Gun (33.1/50).
3. Super Bowl Post Game (23.4/38).
4. CSI (15.2/23).
5. American Idol – Tuesday (14.3/21).
6. American Idol – Wednesday (13.8/20).
7. American Idol – Special (13.1/19).
8. Joe Millionaire (11.5/17).
9. Law and Order (11.1/18).
10. Law and Order: SVU (11/17).