CBS, Fox share weeklong ratings spoils

By Paul J. Gough

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - CBS won the primetime ratings race among viewers last week, while Fox led among adults 18-49, according to Nielsen Media Research data for the period ended July 22.

NBC was No. 2 in the coveted demographic, thanks to strong showings from the new karaoke-style competition "The Singing Bee" and "America's Got Talent."

Monday started with a demo win by Fox thanks to "Hell's Kitchen" (8.2 million viewers, 4.1 rating/12 share in adults 18-49). NBC came in second on the strength "Victoria Beckham: Coming to America" (5 million, 2.2/7), which won the 8 p.m. hour in the demo.

Tuesday went to NBC, powered by "America's Got Talent" (10.4 million, 3.2/10) and especially "Singing Bee" (11 million, 3.7/11), the night's top show in viewership and the demo. Nothing else came close, including CBS' "Big Brother" (7 million, 2.9/8), ABC's "Shaq's Big Challenge" (5.4 million, 2.0/6) and Fox's "On the Lot" (2.3 million, 1.0/3). But ABC's "Just for Laughs" (8.6 million, 3.0/7) did well at 8:30 p.m.

Fox won Wednesday and Thursday in adults 18-49 with "So You Think You Can Dance," with Wednesday's edition averaging 8.1 million and a 3.3/11 in the demo and Thursday's scoring 9.1 million viewers and a 3.4/10. Wednesday's "Don't Forget the Lyrics" (7.4 million, 2.9/8) was almost identical to Thursday's edition (8.4 million, 2.9/10).

Sunday was won by Fox with four repeats of "The Simpsons," including a 9 p.m. edition that averaged 6.4 million viewers and a 3.1/9. CBS' "60 Minutes" (7.5 million, 1.2/5) was the night's top show in viewers even as a repeat.

Among total viewers in primetime, CBS (6.2 million, 1.7/6) led the networks, while Fox (5.5 million, 2.2/7) won in the adults 18-49 demo, followed by NBC (5.9 million, 2.0/6), ABC (4.7 million, 1.6/5) and the CW (1.9 million, 0.7/2).

"NBC Nightly News With Brian Williams" won in viewership last week against an ABC "World News" that was without its anchor, Charles Gibson. NBC averaged 7.5 million viewers compared with ABC's 7.2 million and CBS' 5.7 million, Nielsen said. It was the first time NBC had won since April 16.

On cable, MSNBC prevailed for the third consecutive week against CNN in the adults 25-54 demo from 7 p.m.-2 a.m. and the second consecutive week against CNN in primetime. MSNBC is averaging 198,000 in adults 25-54 in July, up 39% year-over-year, compared with 192,000 for CNN, which is down 31%.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter