CBS house advantage

'Brother' big but not giant

By RICK KISSELL

The seventh season preem of CBS' 'Big Brother' was the top show across the board at 8 Thursday night.

"Big Brother" kicked off its seventh season a winner for CBS on Thursday, but the summer stalwart is off to a slower start than usual with this All-Stars edition.

Thursday's opener of the skein, which has been a consistent summer ratings draw for the Eye since its bow in 2000, averaged a 2.8 rating/10 share in adults 18-49 and 7.54 million viewers overall -- down 18% from last year in 18-49 (3.4/11), according to Nielsen. It was also off 24% from two years ago (3.7/13).

Still, "Big Brother" won its 8 o'clock hour across the board, also posting a 3.2/10 in adults 25-54 and a 2.1/10 in persons 12-34. ABC's "Master of Champions," the only other firstrun program in the slot, mustered a weak 1.5/5 in 18-49 and 5.19 million viewers overall.

"Brother" will air Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday at 8 throughout summer.

The Eye fell to second place for the 9 o'clock hour with a special seg of "Rock Star" (2.7/8 in 18-49, 6.02m), which was up from its soft premiere numbers on Wednesday (2.2/7 in 18-49, 5.30m). Fox's "So You Think You Can Dance" results show led the timeslot (3.4/10 in 18-49, 8.85m) and was the night's No. 1 program in both 18-49 and 12-34 (3.0/11).

Also of note was the Thursday premiere of ABC drama "Grey's Anatomy." Replay of the pilot episode earned a 2.3/7 in 18-49 and 7.23 million viewers overall in its new 9 o'clock slot.

A second "Grey's Anatomy" at 10 (2.9/9, 7.73m) was on par in 18-49 with a special repeat "CSI" on CBS (3.0/9, 9.70m). The two shows will oppose each other at 9 this fall in one of the season's most anticipated showdowns.

Another 10 o'clock drama, NBC's once-promising "Windfall," was a distant third in the hour (1.9/6, 4.48m).