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'Dancing With the Stars' Is Big TV Hit

Posted on: Tuesday, 12 July 2005, 15:00 CDT

NEW YORK - More than 22 million people tuned in to see soap star Kelly Monaco hoof it over former "Seinfeld" supporting player John O'Hurley last week in the finale of ABC's "Dancing with the Stars."

It was the most-watched episode of a summertime series since the last night of Fox's first "American Idol" in 2002 and, overall, the most popular summer series since the first "Survivor" on CBS in 2000, according to Nielsen Media Research.

The wholesome fun of the dance competition made it a series that entire families could comfortably enjoy together.

ABC hasn't announced a second version of the series, although it's likely.

VH1 also was pleased, announcing that Hulk Hogan's reality series "Hogan Knows Best" recorded the highest ratings of any premiere in its history.

In a quiet week, two Fourth of July fireworks displays scored among Nielsen's top 20.

Despite "Dancing," CBS's strong rerun schedule enabled it to win the week, averaging 7.4 million viewers (5.1 rating, 9 share). ABC had 6.1 million viewers (4.1, 7), NBC 5.8 million (4.1, 8), Fox 4.4 million (2.9, 5), UPN 2.3 million (1.6, 3), the WB 1.9 million (1.4, 2) and Pax TV 590,000 (0.4, 1).

NBC's "Nightly News" won the evening news ratings race, averaging 8.7 million viewers (6.2, 13). ABC's "World News Tonight" had 8.2 million viewers (5.8, 12) and the "CBS Evening News" 6.8 million (4.9, 10).

A ratings point represents 1,096,000 households, or 1 percent of the nation's estimated 109.6 million TV homes. The share is the percentage of in-use televisions tuned to a given show.

For the week of July 4-10, the top 10 shows, their networks and viewerships: "Dancing with the Stars," ABC, 22.4 million; "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 14.9 million; "Without a Trace," CBS, 12.3 million; "Dancing with the Stars" (8 p.m.), ABC, 10.3 million; "CSI: NY," CBS, 9.8 million; "60 Minutes," CBS, 9.5 million; "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," NBC, 8.7 million; "Law & Order: SVU," NBC, 8.6 million; "Big Brother 6," CBS, 8.5 million; "Crossing Jordan," NBC, 7.8 million.

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On the Net:

http://www.nielsenmedia.com

Source: Associated Press/AP Online

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