CBS TAKES COMMANDING LEAD IN PRIMETIME RATINGS

CBS once again clobbered the competition in the ratings last week, coming in first among total adult viewers and among the key 18-49 age group. According to Nielsen Research the network averaged 11.3 million viewers for the week, around twice the number of viewers who watched either Fox, NBC, and ABC, which finished in that order (Fox with 6.1 million viewers. NBC with 6.0 million, and ABC with 5.4 million). CBS’s coverage of the 56th annual Grammy Awards was the top-rated show of the week, attracting 28.5 million viewers. CBS also landed seven shows in the top ten, beaten out only by Fox’s two airings of American Idol on Wednesday and Thursday, and NBC’s telecast of the Pro Bowl Game on Sunday. Ratings slipped from the previous weeks in January for the evening newscasts, with NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams again coming out on top with 9.2 million viewers, followed by ABC World News with Diane Sawyer with 8.2 million and the CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley with 7.1 million.