CBS AGAIN DOMINATES RATINGS; NBC CONTINUES RETREAT

Judging from the weekly Nielsen primetime rankings, a lot of viewers must have tuned in to CBS early last week, then tossed aside their remotes. Except for the three American Idol telecasts on Fox, CBS ruled Nielsen’s weekly top ten. And the best Idol could do was place sixth for its Thursday-night edition. The only non-CBS shows in the top 20 were the penultimate edition of ABC’s The Bachelor (tied at No. 15), and Fox’s new The Following at No. 18. For NBC, meanwhile, the situation continued to look mighty grim. Indeed Grimm, the fantasy series that returned after being on hiatus for the past three months, turned out to be the network’s highest-rated scripted show for the week, coming in at No. 47, with 4.9 million viewers. The only NBC shows rated higher were The Biggest Loser at No. 38 and Celebrity Apprentice at No. 45. Although final figures have yet to be announced, it is almost certain that NBC’s Saturday Night Live, which airs outside of primetime, drew nearly 9 million viewers for Saturday’s episode hosted by Justin Timberlake. Indeed, NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams averaged 9.15 million viewers last week. (ABC World News with Diane Sawyer came in second in the news category with 8.16 million, while the CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley placed third with 7.03 million viewers.) For the week, CBS averaged a 6.0 household rating and a 10 share. Fox followed with a 4.5/7. ABC was third with a 3.5/6, while NBC trailed with a 2.3/4. Spanish-language Univision was only a tad behind with a 2.2/4.

The top ten shows of the week according to Nielsen Research:
1. NCIS, CBS, 12.9/20; 2. The Big Bang Theory, CBS, 10.5/17; 3. NCIS: Los Angeles, CBS, 10.0/15; 4. Person of Interest, CBS, 9.1., 14; 5. Two and a Half Men, CBS, 8.3/13; 6. American Idol (Thursday), Fox, 7.8/12; 7. American Idol (Wednesday), Fox, 7.7/12; 8. 60 Minutes, CBS, 7.5/13; 9. American Idol (Tuesday), Fox, 7.0/11; 10. Blue Bloods, CBS, 6.9/12.