CBS conquers 'Fear' with lineup of laffers
'Factor' makes strong debut despite not winning hour
NBC's "Fear Factor" made a strong debut as a series regular Monday, although the gross-out fest didn't take control of its 8 o'clock hour as many had expected (or feared). A combo of CBS laffers, "King of Queens" and "Yes, Dear," topped "Fear" in both adults 18-49 and total viewers.
According to Nielsen, the critically reviled reality series averaged 12.20 million viewers and a 5.4/13 in adults 18-49 with an episode that featured contestants bobbing for plums in an aquarium filled with snakes. These are the second-best timeslot scores of the season for NBC, but they also fall below the scores generated by the first two episodes of "Weakest Link" that aired Mondays at 8 last April.
"Fear," last summer's highest-rated series, picked up steam on the half-hour (going from a 4.7/12 to a 6.1/14 in 18-49) and dominated its hour in men 18-34 (5.5/16) and men 18-49 (5.7/14). CBS' "King of Queens" and "Yes, Dear" won in female demos.
'Boston' strangled
"Fear" seemed to affect younger-skewing Fox the most, as "Boston Public" fell to its lowest firstrun 18-49 score (4.7/11) since April.
NBC matched its best Monday 18-49 average of the season with regular programming (4.9/12), but that was only good enough for third on this tough night behind ABC (6.1/16) and CBS (5.6/13).
"Fear Factor" seemed to make for a good fit with lead-out "Third Watch," which grabbed a season high in 18-49 (4.4/10). "Crossing Jordan" also remained solid at 10 (5.0/12).
ABC's "Monday Night Football" ended its season with a significant Vikings-Ravens matchup that delivered the strongest closing-game scores for the franchise in five years (18.79m, 7.4/19). The 15 regularly skedded "MNF" telecasts this season averaged 17 million viewers, down 8% from a year ago (18.5 million).
CBS' "Everybody Loves Raymond" was again Monday's No. 1 program (22.28m, 8.2/18 in 18-49).
