CBS Still Rules Ratings Roost
By Bill Keveney
*Status quo. As in premiere week, CBS once again topped the broadcast networks in viewers, with ABC coming in second. CBS had five top 10 shows, ABC four and NBC just one: 10th-ranked Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. In the ratings for young adults (ages 18-49), ABC was No. 1 and CBS No. 2, same as premiere week.
*No sophomore slump. ABC’s second-season hits, Desperate Housewives and Lost, finished first (15.7 million) and second (12.6 million) for the week among young adults. They finished second and third, respectively, in viewers, trailing only CBS powerhouse CSI.
*Fighting for second. CBS’ Survivor easily took the top spot in the Thursday at 8 p.m. ET/PT battleground. Its 17.3 million viewers more than doubled second-place Alias (8.2 million), which was separated from sixth-place Smallville by just 2.3 million viewers. After a record-setting premiere for UPN, Everybody Hates Chris dropped 23% to 6 million viewers in its second week. Among young-adult viewers, however, Smallville finished fourth in its new time period, boosting WB’s performance.
*Tuesday tangle. ABC’s Commander In Chief got off to a winning start with its premiere, drawing 16.4 million viewers in one of the most competitive time slots, Tuesday at 9. However, Commander didn’t fare as well with advertiser-coveted young adults, finishing only in a third-place tie, trailing Fox’s House, the time-period winner. NBC’s My Name Is Earl was down more than 20% from its surprisingly big premiere, but still was the week’s No. 1 half-hour comedy in young adults.
*Hello, you must be going. UPN’s Sex, Love & Secrets had what might be called a debut adieu: The soap’s premiere was the lowest-ranked show of the week. UPN stopped production but says it will broadcast completed episodes.
*Cable ratings. FX’s Nip/Tuck was the only entertainment series to crack the top 10, drawing 3.9 million viewers. On HBO, Curb Your Enthusiasm (1.4 million viewers) and Extras (779,000) were down about 200,000 viewers each from their premieres a week earlier.
By Bill Keveney
(c) Copyright 2005 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.