'Simple,' 'SVU' strong Tuesday

Morning Ratings Flash - Rick Kissell

By RICK KISSELL

A special one-hour reunion seg of "The Simple Life" was a ratings winner for Fox on Tuesday, lifting the net to victory among adults 18-49, according to preliminary nationals from Nielsen. CBS took the night in total viewers.

From 8 to 9, "Simple Life" won easily in key demographics, posting a 5.5/15 in adults 18-49 and a 6.3/20 in adults 18-34. Lead-out drama "24" (3.8/10 in adults 18-49, 8.7 million viewers overall) was in a tight three-way battle with ABC and NBC for first in 18-49, but the third-year skein continues to perform at lower levels this season.

NBC was again competitive from 8 to 10 with comedies and then controlled the 10 o'clock hour with "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (5.5/15 in adults 18-49, 14.0 million viewers). Among its laffers, the first-year "Happy Family" looked best (3.7/9 in adults 18-49, 9.3 million viewers), edging out "24" for the 18-49 lead at 9:30.

ABC ran second in demos during the 8 o'clock hour with "8 Simple Rules" (3.6/10 in adults 18-49, 10.6 million viewers) and "I'm With Her" (3.2/8 in adults 18-49) and was on top in 18-49 at 9 with a repeat of "According to Jim" (4.5/11 in adults 18-49, 10.1 million viewers). Rookie drama "Line of Fire" again struggled to find an aud at 10 (2.2/6 in adults 18-49, 5.9 million viewers).

CBS received another solid perf from leadoff rookie drama "Navy NCIS" (3.1/9 in adults 18-49, 14.1 million viewers), which was second in adults 25-54 (4.5/11) and won easily in total viewers (14.1 million).

Preliminary 18-49 averages for the night: Fox, 4.7/12; NBC, 4.1/11; ABC, 3.2/8; CBS, 2.9/8; UPN, 1.8/5; WB, 1.4/4.

In total viewers: CBS, 12.3 million; NBC, 10.6 million; Fox, 9.8 million; ABC, 8.1 million; WB, 4.1 million; UPN, 4.0 million.