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Emmys, 'Survivor' Premiere Help CBS to 1st Place Win

Posted on: Thursday, 22 September 2005, 21:00 CDT

HOME & FAMILYNEW YORK -- The Emmys and the start of a new "Survivor" edition helped CBS end the summer in a familiar locale -- first place in the ratings.

TV's fall season officially began Monday, although a few programs have jumped the gun.

One positive sign for the networks was the sharp increase in viewership for the Emmy Awards on CBS, from 13.8 million viewers last year to 18.7 million on Sunday night, according to Nielsen Media Research. That could foretell interest in what the networks have to offer.

Although it was the third most-watched show of the week, the start of a new "Survivor" edition had a slightly smaller audience than the series has reached lately.

Starting early has given a boost to new Fox series "Prison Break" and "Bones." Most television executives are waiting to see how they do against first-run competition.

For the week, CBS averaged 10.5 million viewers (6.9 rating, 12 share) and handily won among the 18-to-49-year-old demographic sought by advertisers. Fox had 7.5 million (4.7, 8), ABC 7.3 million, NBC 6.9 million (both 4.9, 8), the WB 3.4 million (2.2, 4), UPN 2.6 million (1.7, 3) and Pax TV 680,000 (0.5, 1).

Nielsen was not immediately able to include an abbreviated version of Sunday's "60 Minutes" in its rankings.

NBC's "Nightly News" won the evening news ratings race, averaging 9.3 million viewers (6.8, 14). ABC's "World News Tonight" had 8.9 million viewers (6.3, 12) and the "CBS Evening News" 6.4 million (4.5, 9).

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.

Prime-time viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen Media Research for Sept. 12-18. Top 20 listings include the week's ranking, with viewership for the week and season-to-date rankings in parentheses. An "X" in parentheses denotes a season debut or one-time-only presentation.

1. (8) "NFL Monday Night Football: Philadelphia at Atlanta," ABC, 19.6 million viewers.

2. (X) "Emmy Awards," CBS, 18.7 million viewers.

3. (X) "Survivor: Guatemala," CBS, 18.4 million viewers.

4. (28) "House," Fox, 15.9 million viewers.

5. (16) "NFL Monday Showcase," ABC, 14.9 million viewers.

6. (3) "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 14.5 million viewers.

7. (14) "NFL National Post-Game," CBS, 14.4 million viewers.

8. (X) "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," (Thursday, 10:25 p.m.), CBS, 13 million viewers.

9. (37) "Two And a Half Men," CBS, 10.9 million viewers.

10. (X) "Bones," Fox, 10.8 million viewers.

11. (7) "CSI: Miami," CBS, 10.7 million viewers.

12. (24) "Law & Order: SVU," NBC, 10.5 million viewers.

13. (13) "Two And a Half Men," (Monday, 9 p.m.), CBS, 10.5 million viewers.

14. (63) "The Simpsons," Fox, 10 million viewers.

15. (28) "Law & Order," NBC, 9.8 million viewers.

16. (94) "Family Guy," Fox, 9.6 million viewers.

17. (X) "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (Wednesday, 9 p.m.), NBC, 9.3 million viewers.

18. (X) "Prison Break," Fox, 9.1 million viewers.

19. (X) "War at Home," Fox, 8.6 million viewers.

20. (X) "Threshold," CBS, 8.6 million viewers.

Source: Daily Breeze

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