Primetime Ratings: Comedy Night Drives CBS
Two and a Half Men, Rules of Engagement Lead Network to Monday Win
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 4/15/2008 1:36:00 PM
In the battle of scripted vs. reality Monday night, scripted won. CBS' Monday-night comedies Two and a Half Men (5.3 rating/13 share in the 18-49 demo) and Rules of Engagement (4/10) powered the network to a win on the night. The network averaged a 3.6/9 in the demo.
Coming in second was ABC with a 3.4/9, led by Dancing with the Stars from 8 p.m.-9:30 p.m., which boasted the second-highest-rated half-hour with a 4.4/11 from 9 p.m.-9:30 p.m. up against the top-rated half-hour, CBS' Men at the same time.
NBC was third with a 2.5/6, led by Deal or No Deal from 9 p.m.-10 p.m. with a 3.2/8.
Fox was fourth with a 2.5/6. The return of Bones with a new episode from 8 p.m.-9 p.m. (2.8/8) came in third in the time period behind Dancing and CBS' Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother.
The CW was fifth with a 1/2 for a repeat of Gossip Girl and a new One Tree Hill, which recorded a 1.3/3 in its first outing Monday night. The CW is teaming up the two shows to create a Monday drama night, counterprogramming CBS' comedy night.
