Going into November sweeps, the No. 1 spot in prime time is CBS' to defend,
with the "Tiffany Network" winning the first four weeks of the season in households
and viewers for the first time since 1987, when Nielsen Media Research started
using People Meters.
NBC remained dominant in adults 18 through 49, staying 0.8 of a rating point
ahead of the "Eye," but CBS was creeping up, gaining in that demo by 0.1 point last
week.
NBC also won in adults 18 through 34 and 25 through 54, as well as women in all key
demos, and it was only 380,000 viewers behind CBS in overall numbers.
While ABC has been finishing fourth behind Fox and Major League Baseball in households and
viewers, it is building in the 18-through-49 demo, winning Tuesdays and coming
in second on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
And ABC's Wednesday-night lineup is stronger than a second-place finish
would indicate, with My Wife and Kids, George Lopez and The
Bachelor all winning the category, but Law & Order cleaning up for
NBC with an extremely strong finish at 10 p.m.
Baseball is keeping Fox in the ratings game, giving it third-place finishes in
households and adults 18 through 49 and allowing Fox to win all of the key male
demos for the week. Still, the first two games of the "Golden State" World Series
were the lowest-rated in history, according to Nielsen's fast affiliate ratings.
The WB Television Network continued to show high growth, with the network up 20 percent over
last year in total viewers and up 23 percent in persons 12 through 34, The WB's
target demo.
UPN is experiencing the opposite trend, with its ratings down 13 percent
year-to-year in households and viewers and down 14 percent in adults 18 through
34.
For the week in households: CBS 8.4/14, NBC 8.2/13, Fox 6.9/11, ABC 6.1/10,
WB 3.1/5, UPN 2.6/4.
In adults 18 through 49: NBC 4.8/13, CBS 4.0/11, Fox 3.9/11, ABC 3.7/10, WB
2.2/6, UPN 1.8/5.
