NBC drama "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" hit a season high Tuesday, pacing the net to victory on the night in adults 18-49, according to preliminary nationals from Nielsen. CBS drew the most viewers overall on Tuesday.
At 10, "Law & Order: SVU" (6.0/15 in adults 18-49, 15.3 million viewers overall) topped in adults 18-49 the combined scores of fellow dramas "Judging Amy" on CBS (3.2/8 in adults 18-49, 12.5 million viewers) and "Line of Fire" on ABC (2.7/7 in adults 18-49, 7.3 million viewers). NBC finished third from 8 to 10 with its comedy block, with "Frasier" leading the way despite a subpar silver-medal outing at 9 (3.9/10 in adults 18-49, 10.9 million viewers overall).
ABC prevailed in adults 18-49 for the 8 to 10 block, led by a comfortable demo victory at 9 by "According to Jim" (5.0/12 in adults 18-49, 11.4 million viewers) and winning deliveries from "8 Simple Rules" (4.0/11 in adults 18-49), "I'm With Her" (3.9/10 in adults 18-49) and "Less Than Perfect" (4.2/10 in adults 18-49, tied with Fox's "24").
Fox tied for second in 18-49 from 8 to 9 with repeat comedies and also was runner-up in the demo at 9 with "24" (4.1/10 in adults 18-49, 9.4 million viewers overall). The drama led its hour in 18-34 (3.7/10).
At CBS, "Navy NCIS" (3.0/8 in adults 18-49, 14.6 million viewers) led its hour in total viewers and was a strong second in adults 25-54 (4.5/11).
Preliminary 18-49 averages for the night: NBC, 4.4/11; ABC, 3.8/10; Fox, 3.7/9; CBS, 3.0/8; WB, 1.1/3; UPN, 1.1/3.
In total viewers: CBS, 12.9 million; NBC, 11.5 million; ABC, 9.4 million; Fox, 8.1 million; WB, 3.0 million; UPN, 2.5 million.
Contact Rick Kissell at
rick.kissell@variety.com