'CSI,' 'ER' top Thursday
Morning Ratings Flash - Rick Kissell
"CSI" (10.7 rating/25 share in adults 18-49, 29.5 million viewers overall) again dominated the 9 o'clock hour, and figures to rank as the week's No. 1 program in both adults 18-49 and total viewers. CBS was also strong at 8 with slot-leading "Survivor: Vanuatu" (7.4/19 in adults 18-49, 20.1 million viewers overall) and a solid runner-up in demos at 10 with "Without a Trace" (6.9/17 in adults 18-49, 20.4 million viewers overall).
For NBC, "ER" (9.3/23 in adults 18-49, 19.8 million viewers overall) looked very healthy with a special "real-time" episode featuring Ray Liotta, and "The Apprentice 2" remained a potent No. 2 in the 9 o'clock hour (7.8/18 in adults 18-49, 16.1 million viewers overall). Leadoff laffer "Joey" (5.2/14 in adults 18-49, 11.7 million viewers overall) was on par with recent outings, and "Will & Grace" followed with its best scores in four weeks (5.5/13 in adults 18-49, 12 million viewers overall).
ABC moved up to third on the night with a Veterans' Day repeat of theatrical "Saving Private Ryan" (3.0/7 in adults 18-49, 9.2 million viewers overall). Numbers are subject to revision when Nielsen issues finals this afternoon as roughly 35% of ABC's affils opted not to air the pic due to fear of FCC fines.
Fox's "The OC" (3.6/9 in adults 18-49, 8 million viewers overall) retained most of its premiere-week aud and again ranked second to "Survivor" for its hour in adults 18-34. At 9, "North Shore" dropped off a bit (1.7/4 in adults 18-49, 4.2 million viewers overall).
Preliminary 18-49 averages for the night: CBS, 8.3/20; NBC, 7.5/18; ABC, 3/7; Fox, 2.7/6; UPN, 1.5/4; WB, 1.2/3.
In total viewers: CBS, 23.4 million; NBC, 15.9 million; ABC, 9.2 million; Fox, 6.1 million; UPN, 4.6 million; WB, 2.8 million.
