CBS' 'Apple' can't find core aud, ratings slip
Show retains weak 43% lead-in from 'CSI'
According to Nielsen, the crime drama averaged 10.96 million viewers and a 3.8/11 in adults 18-49 on Thursday -- dropoffs of 10% and 16% respectively vs. a week earlier when it premiered in second place opposite a firstrun episode of NBC's "ER." This time around, it fell to third behind a repeat "ER" (14.10m, 6.9/19) and a strong-performing "Primetime Thursday" on ABC (12.70m, 4.4/12).
"Big Apple" retained a weak 43% of its lead-in from "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" in adults 18-49 (3.8 vs. 8.9) and 46% in adults 25-54 (5.2 vs. 11.4). And for the second straight week, there was considerable dropoff in show's second half-hour.
"Apple" is still performing better than three of the last four tries for newsmag "48 Hours" in the slot, but the improvement is now minimal.
CBS won the night by virtually all measures, with its victory in adults 18-49 and 18-34 the net's first in-season on a Thursday with regular programming since such categories were initially tracked in 1987. "Survivor: The Australian Outback" (28.72m, 12.1/31 in A18-49) again dominated its hour (topping NBC's comedy repeats by 17 shares in 18-49) and will again rank as the week's No. 1 program.
