CBS captures more viewers with fall shows

Last update: October 22, 2008 - 8:06 PM

CBS is continuing its strong start to the new television season, but for NBC and Fox, the week of Oct. 13-19 was one to forget.

CBS was the only one of the top five networks with more prime-time viewers last week than it had for the same week a year before. Ten of the nation's 20 most-watched prime-time shows were on CBS, according to Nielsen Media Research.

ABC's brightest spot was "Samantha Who?," the Christina Applegate series that had 11.4 million viewers turn out to support the star as she returned to work following breast cancer surgery this summer. It was the second most-popular sitcom on TV, behind CBS' "Two and a Half Men."

For Fox, "American Idol" can't come soon enough. The network had 5 million fewer viewers this year than the same week a year ago. The primary culprit was baseball, as the network's coverage of the National League Championship Series between Philadelphia and Los Angeles laid an egg. The deciding fifth game had barely more than 8 million viewers.

For the week, network averages were: CBS, 11.5 million viewers (7.3 rating, 12 share); ABC, 9.2 million (5.9, 10); NBC, 7.2 million (4.6, 7); Fox, 6.7 million (4.2, 7); CW, 2.1 million (1.4, 2); My Network, 1.6 million (1.1, 2); ION, 580,000 (0.4, 1).

In the evening news race: NBC "Nightly News," 7.8 million (5.3, 11); ABC "World News," 7.6 million (5.3, 11); "CBS Evening News," 5.9 million (4, 8).

ASSOCIATED PRESS

1 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (CBS)

2 NCIS (CBS)

3 Dancing With the Stars (ABC)

4 Desperate Housewives (ABC)

5 The Mentalist (CBS)

6 Dancing With the Stars Results (ABC)

7 Grey's Anatomy (ABC)

8 Two and a Half Men (CBS)

9 60 Minutes (CBS)

10 House (Fox)