CBS HEADING FOR ITS BEST SEASON?

Every one of CBS’s new series this season is beating the new series launched by its rival broadcast networks, the New York Times observed today (Monday). Moreover, it said, the network, written off by some advertisers for attracting older viewers, has been leading among the key 18-49 demographic group as well. The Times also took note of the fact that the risky time changes CBS implemented in its schedule — moving Survivor to Wednesday, CSI: Miami to Sunday, and The Big Bang Theory to Thursday — all worked, boosting the ratings for all three popular shows and enhancing the ratings for the shows hinged to them. Most remarkable, the Times observed, is that CBS is finishing in first or second place in almost every hour of primetime — and never last. By contrast, the website TVbytheNumbers.com pointed out today that AMC’s Emmy award-winner Mad Men averaged 700,000 adults 18-49 in is initial telecast last week, while a rerun of NCIS on CBS Saturday — the lowest rated night of the week — averaged about 1.2 million adults 18-49. The Times quoted CBS chief Les Moonves as saying, “We don’t get the Emmys … but that’s not as important as getting the audience.”