There was the rare sighting of an endangered species -- a movie made specifically for a broadcast network -- among the most popular prime-time programs the week of Feb. 23-March 1.
"Jesse Stone: Thin Ice," starring Tom Selleck as a police chief and the fifth movie in a series based on Robert Parker's books, was seen by 15.2 million people on CBS Sunday night. The audience was bigger than any of the series' other movies since the first one, shown in 2003, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Otherwise, Nielsen's ratings list looked familiar with Fox's "American Idol" on top. ABC's highly touted drama "Life on Mars" was seen by fewer than 5 million people last week, contributing to the network's decision to wrap up the series with a finale next month.
For the week, network averages were: Fox, 11.2 million viewers (6.5 rating, 10 share); CBS, 11 million (6.9, 11); ABC, 7.4 million (4.7, 8); NBC, 6.2 million (3.9, 6); My Network, 1.43 million (0.9, 1); CW, 1.37 million (0.9, 1); ION, 650,000 (0.5, 1)
In the evening news race: NBC "Nightly News," 9.3 million (6.1, 12); ABC "World News," 8.4 million (5.7, 11); "CBS Evening News," 6.4 million (4.4, 9).
ASSOCIATED PRESS
1 American Idol (Wednesday) (Fox)
2 American Idol (Thursday) (Fox)
