Cow brains and live worms helped CBS top NBC's Friends in their first face-off of the February sweep.
Survivor: The Australian Outback's Thursday night debut brought CBS back on a night that has long been dominated by NBC's Must See TV lineup. Survivor attracted 29.4 million viewers to Super Sized Friends' 21.1 million, according to fast national results from Nielsen Media Research. Survivor also outdid Friends in the key adults 18-49 demo, averaging a 12.0 rating/29 share vs. Friends' 10.5/25. And it took won its time period in households (17.6/27) and was the most-watched program of the night.
NBC's E.R. scored the night's best 18-49 rating, a 13.5/35. E.R. was second to Survivor on the night in total viewers, attracting 26.7 million.
CBS' move of freshman drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigators also paid dividends. The drama's first Thursday night episode set all-time highs in total viewers (22.0 million), adults 18-49 (8.4/19) and households (14.5/21). CSI topped NBC's 9-10 p.m. ET/PT rivals Will & Grace and Just Shoot Me, which combined averaged 18.9 million viewers. In adults 18-49, NBC's 9 p.m. comedies did outwit CSI though, averaging a 10.5/24 in the key demo. - Joe Schlosser
