The premiere of 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter -- one of the last three episodes shot
with the late John Ritter -- drove ABC to victory Tuesday night among adults
18-49 and 25-54, according to the Nielsen Media Research fast-affiliate ratings.
Rules was the most-watched show of the night, drawing 16.9 million
viewers.
For the night, ABC (which also premiered I’m with Her,
According to Jim, Less than Perfect and NYPD Blue) was up 7% in
household rating versus a year ago. (CBS and NBC were down 13% and 6%,
respectively).
Rules lead-out I’m with Her was first in total viewers (13.1
million) and adults 18-49 and 25-54.
For the night, the "Big Three" networks were very close in average audience
(with just 300,000 viewers separating first from third) and households (all with
a 13 share). CBS eked out the win in households while NBC did the same in
viewers.
From 9 p.m.-10 p.m., NBC won across most of the key rating categories with the
premiere of a one-hour episode of Frasier, which averaged 14.2 million
viewers.
From 10 p.m.-11 p.m. the premiere of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit was first across
the board, beating both Judging Amy and NYPD Blue. Amy on
CBS was second in households and viewers, while Blue was second in the
adult demos.
Fox was fourth in households but first among adults 18-34 with the
Paradise Hotel finale.
The WB Television Network was fifth in households ahead of UPN, while the two networks tied for
fifth among adults 18-34 and 18-49. WB premiered Gilmore Girls and One
Tree Hill, while UPN aired One on One, All of Us, Rock Me Baby
and The Mullets.
The fast-affiliate viewer totals for the night: NBC 12.2 million, CBS 12
million, ABC 11.9 million, Fox 6.9 million, The WB 3.5 million and UPN 3.1
million.
Adults 18-49: ABC 5.0/13, NBC 4.5/12, Fox 3.1/8, CBS 2.7/7, WB and
UPN 1.2/3.
