Rookie shows "Cavemen," "Cane" slide in ratings
NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - ABC's "Cavemen" edged closer to extinction in its second outing Tuesday, while Fox's "House" and NBC's "Law & Order: SVU" were up week-over-week.
"Cavemen" (7 million viewers, 2.6 rating/8 share in adults 18-49) shed 2.2 million viewers compared with its premiere, according to Nielsen Media Research. The comedy came in third place in the demo behind CBS' "NCIS" (16.4 million, 3.4/10) and Fox's "Bones" (8.5 million, 3.2/9).
The "Cavemen" troubles stalled the network's "Carpoolers" (7.3 million, 2.8/8), which built on its 8 p.m. lead-in but still was down 20% in the demo compared with last week's premiere. "NCIS" was off 5% compared with last week, while "Bones" was up 7%.
Meanwhile, "House" (18 million, 7.4/18) had no trouble holding on to the lead in viewership and the demo at 9 p.m., increasing at the half-hour and coming out ahead of last week in both measures. It also beat ABC's powerhouse "Dancing With the Stars" (16.4 million, 4.1/10), which was down slightly in the demo week-over-week. CBS' "The Unit" (11 million, 3.0/7) stayed even, and NBC's "The Biggest Loser" (6.5 million, 2.7/7) increased steadily between 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. but was down 18% from last week in adults 18-49.
But CBS had trouble at 10 p.m., where "Cane" (9.1 million, 2.3/7) fell again. The Jimmy Smits drama was down 8% from last week and off 23% from its premiere three weeks ago. CBS' loss was NBC's gain, with "Law & Order: SVU" (12.3 million, 4.9/14) up 9% from last week. ABC's "Boston Legal" (10.6 million, 2.8/8) was down slightly.
The CW saw increases for "Beauty and the Geek" in adults 18-34 and adults 18-49, among other demos, while "Reaper" was down in viewership and adults 18-49.
For the night, Fox (13.3 million, 5.3/14) won in viewership and adults 18-49, followed by NBC (8.5 million, 3.3/9), ABC (11.4 million, 3.2/9), CBS (12.2 million, 2.9/8) and the CW (2.9 million, 1.4/4).
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
