NBC, CBS SHARE RATINGS HONORS

At the midpoint of the broadcast season, NBC was looking a lot like the way it did back in the old days of Must See TV. In week 13, it was No. 1 among the key 18-49 age group, with a solid 2.4 average rating, significantly ahead of second-place CBS with a 1.7 rating in the demo. CBS, however, led among total viewers, averaging 8.84 million for the week versus NBC’s 8.12 million. It also had the most-watched TV show of the week, the long-running NCIS, which attracted 19.65 million viewers, beating NBC’s Sunday Night Football with 18.28 million. All of the top 20 shows of the week, with the exception of the Barbara Walters special on ABC (at No. 12) aired either on CBS or on NBC. Among the evening newscasts, NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams lengthened its lead over ABC World News with Diane Sawyer, with the Williams newscast drawing 9.21 million viewers to Sawyer’s 7.92 million. The CBS Evening News With Scott Pelley continued to improve with 7.05 million viewers. For the week, the four major networks lined up as follows among total households: CBS: 5.8 rating/9 share; NBC: 5.0/8; ABC: 3.2/6; Fox: 2.1/4.