Primetime Ratings: 'Worst Week' Bests Last Week
CBS wins the night with sitcoms and CSI: Miami, early numbers place NBC and ABC in second, Fox fourth, CW fifth.
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 10/14/2008 8:59:00 AM
CBS won its fourth Monday in a row in the 18-40 demo with its combination of sitcoms and dramas, including ratings gains for Worst Week.
CBS averaged a 4 rating/10 share in the Nielsen overnight ratings, powered by a 5.3/12 for Two and a Half Men at 9-10, up slightly (4%) from the 5.1/12 it averaged the week before. CBS also won the 10-11 time period with CSI: Miami (3.9/10).
Worst Week was up 10% in the demo to a 3.3/8 at 9:30, good for second place behind the last half-hour of Heroes on NBC (4.4/10) but still down from the 3.8/9 it averaged in its premiere.
ABC and NBC tied for second with a 3.2/8, though that could change when the national numbers come in, over when the live-plus-seven-day numbers come out showing the amount of time-shifted viewing.
But for the time being they were knotted. ABC was led by Dancing With the Stars, which averaged a 4/10 at 8-9:30. The season premiere of Samantha Who? averaged a 3.1/7 for third place at 9:30.
NBC's top show was Heroes, with a 4.2/10 at 9-10.
Fox's numbers are hard to gauge since it aired a live baseball game. The time period number was a 2.4/6 in the demo, but that could change when West Coast numbers are factored in, particularly since the Dodgers were playing. The CW averaged a 1.7/4 for Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill.
