• by Paul Gough , May 14, 2003

CBS won another week in total households but NBC, facing stiff challenges by breakout programs on CBS and Fox, narrowly won the week in the adults 18-49 demo.

Bolstered by CSI, Everybody Loves Raymond and two shots of Survivor: Amazon - including the season finale Sunday night - CBS (8.7/15, 9.3 million households) cruised to an easy victory in total households. NBC (7.5/13, 8 million households) came in second place, followed by ABC (5.8/10, 6.2 million) and Fox (5.8/10, 6.17 million). The WB (2.8/5, 3 million), UPN (2.2/3, 2.3 million) and Pax (0.7/1, 770,000) followed.

In adults 18-49, the top three were separated by a razor-thin margin. NBC (4.3/12, 5.53 million) edged a victory over Fox (4.3/12, 5.48 million) and CBS (4.2/12, 5.36 million). ABC (3.3/9, 4.2 million), followed by The WB (1.9/5, 2.49 million), UPN (1.5/4, 1.8 million) and Pax (0.3/1, 340,000).

The following are the top 10 programs for the week ended Sunday as ranked by Nielsen Media Research:

1. CSI (CBS), 15.9/24, 16.9 million.

2. ER (NBC), 14.5/23, 15.4 million.

3. American Idol - Tuesday (Fox), 13.2/21, 14 million.

4. American Idol - Wednesday (Fox), 13.1/21, 13.9 million.

5. Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS), 13/19, 13.8 million.

6. Friends (NBC), 12.8/21, 13.6 million.

7. Friends Special Repeat (NBC), 12.5/20, 13.3 million.

8. Survivor: Amazon Finale (CBS), 11.8/19, 12.6 million.

9. Law & Order (NBC), 11.6/19, 12.3 million.

10. Survivor: Amazon (CBS), 11.4/19, 12.1 million.