A balanced lineup highlighted by strength throughout the week has enabled NBC to cruise to victory among young adults for the first full week of the February sweep, delivering its best rating of the season.
Boosted on Tuesday by a special "Will & Grace" and on Sunday by the network preem of "Shrek," NBC notched a season-best 5.2 rating in adults 18-49, according to Nielsen, well ahead of Fox (4.1), CBS (4.0) and ABC (3.0).
While CBS remained on top in total viewers (14.2 million), NBC also prevailed in adults 25-54 (5.8/14) and adults 18-34 (4.4/14). The Peacock was up across the board vs. the same week a year ago.
Big wins on Monday (courtesy of record highs for "Fear Factor") and Sunday ("Shrek") bookended the week, and the net also prevailed in all key demos Thursday.
Overall, NBC accounted for 12 of the week's top 25 shows in the key 18-49 demo, led by No. 1 "Friends" (11.4/29), which opened up some distance on CBS rival "Survivor." Net's "The Apprentice" and "ER" also remain strong on Thursday.
Over at CBS, it was a big week for some of its highest-rated crime dramas, as "CSI," "Without a Trace" and "Cold Case" delivered their largest overall audiences to date. "CSI," which surged to 30.94 million viewers opposite unscripted fare on the other five broadcast nets, again won its hour in key demos despite the emergence of "The Apprentice."
Also noteworthy for CBS was the first-ever 18-49 build for "Two and a Half Men" over its "Everybody Loves Raymond" lead-in (6.0/14 vs. 5.9/14), as the Charlie Sheen laffer continues to rank as the season's highest-rated new comedy.
The Eye was flat in 18-49 and up slightly in 25-54 (where it was a strong No. 2) vs. the same week last year.
Fox comes in 2nd
Fox settled for second in both 18-49 and 18-34 despite two more huge outings by "American Idol," which began its competition rounds with dominant victories on Tuesday (11.1/28 in 18-49, 26.18m) and Wednesday (10.5/27 in 18-49, 24.46m). Net isn't benefiting much from its "Idol" lead-out on Tuesday, though, where "24" retained less than 40% of the music show's aud.
Elsewhere, a two-hour "Love Hurts" edition of "Cops" produced a ratings spike (best-in-a-year 3.5/11 in 18-49 for Saturday night), and limited-run reality series "My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance" (6.5/15 in 18-49, 13.83m) continued its run of placing among the top 10 in 18-49 every week it's aired.
ABC remained well behind in 18-49 but had highlights on Tuesday, with the solid return of "NYPD Blue," and Wednesday, where "The Bachelorette" bounced back to win its hour. Also, reality hour "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (4.0/10 in 18-49, 10.95m) looks like a nice addition to Sunday, where it improved the net's standing despite facing atypical competish from NBC's "Shrek."
WB beats UPN
The WB, with its best week since November, topped UPN in adults 18-34 (1.9/6 vs. 1.7/5), even though the former was down 17% and the latter up 13% vs. the same week a year ago.
Things began to pick up at the Frog, as Monday's "Everwood" matched its season high in persons 12-34 (2.8/7), Tuesday's "One Tree Hill" achieved its highest score in the demo (2.4/7) and "Reba" led its Friday slot in femmes 12-34 (2.3/9). Also, "The Surreal Life" posted best-since-preem numbers and was the net's highest-rated program of the week in 18-34 (2.5/7).
At UPN, "America's Next Top Model" was again Tuesday's No. 2 program among women 18-34 (6.5/16, behind only "American Idol") and continues to deliver some of the net's best-ever series scores. Weblet also got a boost out of Friday pic "Shaft" (1.2/4 in 18-49, 3.01m).
TNT (1.0 rating in 18-49) led the frame among ad-supported cable nets thanks to Sunday's NBA All-Star Game, but USA wasn't far behind (1.0), boosted by Friday's combo of "Monk" and original movie" "The Perfect Husband: The Laci Peterson Story." USA led the week in total viewers, averaging 3.15 million in primetime.
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On Tuesday of the current week, Fox scored a routine victory in key demo categories behind another powerful perf by "American Idol," according to Nielsen prelims. NBC then took over, capping the night with a season-high result from "Law & Order: SVU."
From 8 to 9, "Idol" (10.8/28 in adults 18-49, 24.8 million viewers overall) again beat its combined ABC-CBS-NBC competish in adults 18-49 and was up about 10% from the same night a year ago. Fox tied for second from 9 to 10 with "24" (4.4/11 in 18-49, 10.5m), which was down about 25% from last season.
NBC hung tough with a 90-minute "Fear Factor" that climaxed with a slot-leading 5.3/13 in adults 18-49 in the 9 o'clock half-hour. Net's "Scrubs" (4.3/10 in 18-49, 8.5m) squeaked out a demo victory at 9:30, and then "Law & Order: SVU" cleaned up at 10 by matching its second-highest 18-49 rating ever (6.2/16).
ABC's comedies were sluggish from 8 to 9 but picked up in the 9 o'clock hour with "According to Jim" (4.7/11 in 18-49, 11.2m) and "Less Than Perfect" (4.1/10 in 18-49, 9.5m). And at 10, "NYPD Blue" (3.5/9 in 18-49, 9.5m) was overwhelmed by its Gotham crime foe "SVU."
At CBS, "Navy NCIS" (2.9/7 in adults 18-49, 13.5 million viewers) ran second in both adults 25-54 and total viewers, while "The Guardian" (2.8/7 in 18-49, 11.4m) and "Judging Amy" (3.2/8 in 18-49, 12.4m) looked healthier, both up 2 shares week-to-week in 18-49.
Contact Rick Kissell at
rick.kissell@variety.com