CBS IS FIRST — AND LAST

CBS led again in the Nielsen ratings as the most-watched television network last week, but it was the least-watched network among the key group of adults 18-49. That honor fell to Fox, which has been struggling in the ratings this summer — but which carried Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game last week. While ratings were down for that mid-summer event, they were good enough to put it on top of the ratings heap, ahead of NBC’s summer hit, America’s Got Talent, in both the overall ratings and the 18-49 demographic. ABC’s The Bachelorette, which has become arguably the top water-cooler topic of the summer, came in at No. 3 among younger viewers and No. 5 among total viewers. Among the nightly newscasts, NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams remained on top with 7.5 million viewers, followed by ABC World News with Diane Sawyer with 6.6 million. The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric continued to trail with 5.1 million viewers. For the week, CBS remained in the lead among total viewers with an average 3.9 rating and a 7 share. Fox placed second with a 3.5/6. ABC and NBC tied for third with a 3.2/6.

The top ten shows of the week according to Nielsen Research:
1. Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Fox, 7.5/13; 2. America’s Got Talent (Tuesday), NBC, 6.8/11; 3. NCIS, CBS, 6.6/12; 3. (Tie) America’s Got Talent (Wednesday), NBC, 6.6/11; 5. The Bachelorette, ABC, 6.2/10; 6. All-Star Pregame, Fox, 5.8/11; 7. NCIS: Los Angeles, CBS, 5.2/9; 8. 60 Minutes, CBS, 5.1/10; 9. The Big Bang Theory, CBS, 5.0/8; 10. Two and a Half Men, CBS, 4.9/8; 10. (Tie) The Mentalist, CBS, 4.9/9.