'Lipstick Jungle'
There were plenty of original programs but not a whole lot of ratings fireworks on Thursday, which included an OK launch for NBC's "Lipstick Jungle" and another solid start to the season for CBS vet "Survivor."
ABC won the night in demos with a strong perf by "Lost," while its "Eli Stone" fell off some from its premiere of the previous week but beat out the Peacock's "Lipstick Jungle."
According to Nielsen estimates that include same-night DVR playback, "Lipstick Jungle" logged a second-place demo finish at 10 o'clock, averaging a 2.9 rating/8 share in adults 18-49 and 7.54 million viewers overall. It retained a healthy 88% of its demo lead-in from "The Celebrity Apprentice" (3.3/8, 8.71m).
While not off to a great start overall, "Lipstick" -- which led its slot in women 18-34 and 18-49 -- did hold onto just about all of its audience from its first half-hour to its second. It also performed about on par with what a special episode of first-year drama "Chuck" logged in the hour behind a stronger "Apprentice" two weeks earlier.
"Lipstick," based on the novel by Candace Bushnell, stars Brooke Shields, Kim Raver and Lindsay Price as high-powered friends in New York. It's produced by Universal Media Studios.
As for "Eli Stone," it averaged a second place 3.3/9 in 18-49 and 8.83 million viewers overall -- finishing behind a repeat of CBS crime drama "Without a Trace" (2.7/7, 10.20m) in total viewers but winning its slot in the 18-49, 25-54 and 12-34 categories.
"Eli" was down 18% in 18-49 from its premiere, while lead-in "Lost" (6.5/16, 15.29m) posted a smaller 3% falloff. The drama about a lawyer who just may be a prophet is outperforming another rookie drama to air in the timeslot this season, "Big Shots."
Kicking off the night, the 16th edition of "Survivor" on CBS dominated its timeslot (4.8/13 in 18-49, 14.02m) despite additional nonscripted competish from a special "Deal or No Deal" on NBC (2.6/7, 9.31m). It also easily disposed of Fox's "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" (3.1/8, 8.68m), which had been winning the hour in recent weeks.
"Survivor" continues a gradual loss of ratings steam, but it's worth noting that it has beaten every regularly scheduled program in its Thursday-at-8 timeslot since September 2004. And its winning streak in total viewers extends back to February 2003.
The most recent editions of the reality adventure series opened with a 5.0/15 in 18-49 ("China" last September) and a 5.7/15 ("Fiji" in February 2007).
Contact Rick Kissell at
rick.kissell@variety.com