Survivor returned to its Thursday night slot showing some audience slippage, but still enabled CBS to beat an NBC rerun lineup.
Survivor: The Australian Outback drew 26.7 million viewers and hit an 11.1 rating, 31 share among adults 18-49 in Nielsen fast national numbers. The reality series sequel to CBS's original Survivor had drawn 30 million viewers for its early episodes. A Friends repeat on NBC drew 13 million viewers with a 6.0/18 in the first half-hour against Survivor, while The Weber Show - NBC's only fresh fare on the night - followed with 9.7 million viewers and a 4.7/12.
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation kept soaring on the Survivor's draft, pulling 20.2 million viewers with a 7.9/18. CBS won the night with a 7.9 average rating among 18-49ers to NBC's 6.1, drawing 19.4 million viewers to 11.8 million for NBC and 11.5 million for ABC. - Richard Tedesco
