NBC tops Monday with reality slate

'Gladiators,' 'Deal' gives network another win

By RICK KISSELL

The combination of "American Gladiators" and "Deal or No Deal," both in expanded 90-minute episodes, carried NBC to its fifth straight Monday victory among young adults.

According to preliminary nationals from Nielsen, "American Gladiators" averaged a 3.7 rating/9 share in adults 18-49 and 8.8 million viewers overall from 8 to 9:30 p.m., winning each half-hour in key demos. Similarly, "Deal or No Deal" (4.2/11 in 18-49, 13.1 million viewers overall) carried the rest of the night for NBC and was once again Monday's top-rated program in both 18-49 and total viewers.

Fox ran second in demos thanks to an improved performance at 8 o'clock for "Prison Break" (3.3/9 in 18-49, 7.9 million viewers overall), which wasn't far behind "Gladiators" in the 18-49 demo while narrowly winning in 18-34 (3.5/10). And at 9, "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" (3.5/8 in 18-49, 8.3 million viewers overall) seems to have settled into its ratings range, finishing second or third in most key demos.

At CBS, new comedy "Welcome to the Captain" (2.6/7 in 18-49, 7.1 million viewers overall) didn't do much in its second week, although it performed similarly to its repeat lead-in from "How I Met Your Mother" (2.7/7 in 18-49, 7.1 million viewers overall). Net jumped up sharply at 9 with a repeat of "Two and a Half Men" (3.9/9 in 18-49, 11.9 million viewers overall), while a new episode of "The New Adventures of Old Christine" (3.3/8 in 18-49, 9.9 million viewers overall) was up slightly vs. its season premiere of the previous week; "Christine" was competitive in younger demos and led its timeslot in adults 25-54. Closing things out, a repeat of "CSI: Miami" ran second in its 10 p.m. timeslot (2.5/7 in 18-49, 8.6 million viewers overall).

ABC continues to lag its rivals on Mondays, as a 90-minute episode of "Dance War" delivered a 2.4/6 in 18-49 and 9.2 million viewers overall. The net then dropped off at 9:30 with original comedy "Notes From the Underbelly" (1.4/3 in 18-49, 4.3 million viewers overall) and at 10 with firstrun drama "October Road" (1.6/4 in 18-49, 4.0 million viewers overall).

Preliminary 18-49 averages for the night: NBC, 4.0/10; Fox, 3.4/8; CBS, 2.9/7; ABC, 2.0/5; Univision, 1.8/5; CW, 0.6/2.

In total viewers: NBC, 11.0 million; CBS, 8.9 million; Fox, 8.1 million; ABC, 6.7 million; Univision, 4.3 million; CW, 1.5 million