CBS' 'NCIS' posts record ratings

NBC's 'Loser' a winner with viewers

By STUART LEVINE

Tuesday's 'NCIS' audience was the biggest in the show's six-season run on CBS.

CBS’ 8 p.m. drama “NCIS” posted 19.86 million viewers Tuesday night, the most overall viewers in the history of the procedural.

Mark is an impressive accomplishment, considering the skein is now in its sixth season. The episode was the linchpin of a record-breaking evening for the Eye, which posted 17.89 million viewers for the night -- the most for a Tuesday since 1995.

Freshman hit “The Mentalist” also resonated with audiences, scoring season highs in overall viewers (19.33 million) and in the 18-49 demo (4.2 rating/11 share).

At 10 p.m., the long-running Jerry Bruckheimer-produced “Without a Trace” held its own as well, registering season highs in 18-49 demos (3.2/9) and total viewers (14.49 million).

While CBS was reveling in its big night, it was clear the Eye wasn’t taking eyeballs away from NBC. The Peacock earned some weighty numbers of its own for the sixth-season finale of “The Biggest Loser.” The reality skein, in which a Fort Worth, Texas, woman lost 110 lbs. to win $250,000, scored the net’s biggest 18-49 demo numbers (4.5/12) in the 8-10 p.m. Tuesday timeslot in three years.

Overall audience for “Biggest Loser” (11.65 million viewers) was the biggest since Dec. 13, 2006, when the third-season finale was aired.

The premiere of NBC’s Ryan Seacrest-produced reality series “Momma’s Boys” came in second behind “Without a Trace” at 10 p.m., earning a 2.5/7 in the 18-49 demo and 6.07 million viewers.

NBC and CBS tied for first in overall 18-49 demos for the evening (3.8/10). CBS, however, dominated in total viewers, nearly doubling the Peacock’s numbers (9.79 million).

Fox (2.2/6 in the demo, 5.62 million viewers) came in third behind repeats of “House” and “Fringe,” while ABC (2.0/5, 6.03 million viewers) landed fourth with “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and a repeat of “According to Jim.”