NBC nabs night with unscripted duo

Olympic Trials, 'Dateline' a winning combo

By RICK KISSELL

The firstrun, unscripted combo of Olympic Trials and "Dateline" carried NBC to victory among young adults on a quiet final Sunday of June.

According to preliminary nationals from Nielsen, the U.S. Olympic Track & Field and Swimming Trials averaged a 1.6/5 in 18-49 and 5.5 million viewers overall from 7 to 9 p.m., pulling ahead in key demos during the 8 o'clock hour. And "Dateline" kept the net on top the rest of the way with a two-hour edition that averaged a solid 2.2/6 in 18-49 and 7.5 million viewers overall -- matching NBC's best result in the time period since mid-February.

At CBS, "Million Dollar Password" (1.7/5 in 18-49, 8.5 million viewers overall) was up week to week, placing second for its hour in 18-49 and first in total viewers, again building a bit in demos on its "60 Minutes" lead-in (1.4/5 in 18-49, 9.3 million viewers overall). From 9 to 11 p.m., a pair of "Cold Case" repeats averaged a 1.3/4 in 18-49 and 6.6 million viewers overall.

ABC was solid kicking off the night with a repeat of last week's high-rated reality premiere of "Wipeout" (1.7/6 in 18-49, 5.0 million viewers overall), which won the 7 o'clock hour among young adults. It was followed by a repeat of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" from 8 to 10 p.m. (1.9/6 in 18-49, 5.6 million viewers overall) and a low-rated "Desperate Housewives" encore at 10 (1.0/3 in 18-49, 3.2 million viewers overall).

Fox was competitive but nothing special with a repeat of "Lost World: Jurassic Park 2" (1.5/5 in 18-49, 4.1 million viewers overall), while CW isn't even trying -- settling for a tiny 0.3/1 in 18-49 and about 900,000 viewers overall for its all-repeat lineup.

Preliminary 18-49 averages for the night: NBC, 1.8/6; ABC, 1.6/5; Fox, 1.5/5; CBS, 1.4/4; Univision, 0.8/2; CW, 0.3/1.

In total viewers: CBS, 7.7 million; NBC, 6.5 million; ABC, 4.8 million; Fox, 4.1 million; Univision, 4.1 million; CW, 0.9 million.