For the fourth week of the season -- ending Oct. 17 -- CBS dominated the prime-time household ratings race with the top two shows and seven of the top 10, retaining a commanding lead while continuing to hold on to first in the 18-49 demo.
But ABC made gains in 18-49s, regaining the top spot from CBS's CSI and placing four shows in the top 10, up from three the previous week.
The ABC show moving up in the 18-49 demo was Lost, which went from the twelfth spot the prior week to number 10. CBS and ABC tied for the most shows in the top 10 in the demo with four apiece. NBC had two.
CBS maintains a strong lead in the household rating average season-to-date (STD) and a slim lead in the 18-49 rating average STD in a race that is too close to call. In 18-49's CBS is averaging a 3.97 rating, followed by ABC with a 3.90 and NBC with a 3.88.
In households, CBS' average rating is an 8.41, followed by NBC at a 6.8 and ABC with a 6.72.
In households, CBS's CSI (18.07) household rating--according to Nielsen and Galaxy by way of the Television Bureau of Advertising--and CSI: Miami (14.17) were the top two shows of the week, followed by Desperate Housewives on ABC (13.09); CBS' Without a Trace (12.69), Survivor (11.64), and Everybody Loves Raymond (11.64); NBC's E.R. (11.24); CBS' Two and a Half Men (11.15) and 60 Minutes (11.06); and ABC's Lost (10.95).
In the 18-49 demo, Desperate Housewives was number one at a 10.38 household rating, followed by E.R. (8.21), CSI: Miami (8), NBC's Apprentice (7.68), Survivor (6.98), Lost (6.8), Monday Night Football (6.8), ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (6.58), and Without a Trace (6.4).
