CBS Wins with Comedy, Killings

CBS won both households and the key 18-49 demo in the ratings race Monday night on the strength of sitcoms Everybody Loves Raymond and Two and a Half Men and a killer performance by CSI: Miami. For the night, CBS averaged a 5.8 rating/15 share in 18-49s and a 10.8/17 in households, according to Nielsen overnight numbers.

A close second in 18-49s was NBC with a 5.7/15, primarily on the strength of Fear Factor, which built from a 6.2 rating in its first half hour to a 7.4 in its second. Drama Las Vegas was also strong for the Peacock. CSI and Fear Factor were the night's highest rated shows in both households and 18-49s.

Fox was third in the demo for the night with a 2.6/7 for Bernie Mac, Cracking Up and back-to-back That 70's shows.

Coming in fourth in 18-49s was ABC, which aired the TV movie Crash of Flight 323 and 20/20. UPN beat The WB for fifth place, with a 1.4/4 for its sitcom lineup. The WB averaged a .9 in the demo for Seventh Heaven and Everwood.

For the night, the household numbers were: CBS, 10.8/17; NBC, 8.0/13; ABC, 5.7/9; Fox, 3.8/6; UPN, 2.3/4; and The WB, 1.9/3.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.