On the strength of reality shows Big Brother and Amazing Race, CBS took the prime-time Nielsen Media Research ratings crown in both households (6.9 rating/11 share) and the key 18-49 demo (3.8/11) Tuesday night.
NBC gave the first half our of Big Brother all it could handle, with its Father of the Pride tying it with a 4.0/11 in the 18-49 demo. That helped NBC to a second-place finish for the night in both households (5.7/9) and the demo (3.2/9).
ABC was third in households with a 4.5/7 but fourth in the 18-49 demo with a 2.4/7, with its two strongest performers reality show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and sitcom According to Jim.
Over on Fox, which came in fourth in households (4.0/6) and the 18-49 demo (2.8/8), reality ruled as well, with Trading Spouses a strong performer, winning its 8-9 time period with a 3.3/10 and helping Fox beat ABC in the demo for the night. The network's other reality show, The Next Big Champ, which it fought court battles to air, was fourth in its 9-10 time period with a 2.4/6 in 18-49.
In fifth for the night was The WB, with a 2.3/4 household and a 1.2/4 in 18-49's for its all-repeat lineup.
UPN was sixth with a 1.6/3 household and a .9/3 in 18-49's for a combination of repeats and a new episode of The Player, which actually scored lower than the encore outings for Eve and All Of Us.
