'Heroes' rescues ratings for NBC
Fox captured its first Monday of the season in the key young-adult demo without the help of sports, as the high-octane drama combo “Prison Break” and “24” set the pace.
According to preliminary nationals from Nielsen, “Prison Break” (4.1 rating/11 share in adults 18-49, 9.9 million viewers overall) was just a tick off the previous week’s season-best delivery in 18-49, finishing second for the 8 o’clock hour in this category while moving to the slot lead in persons 12-34 (3.8/11) and male demos. “24” followed at 9 (5.4/12 in 18-49, 14.0 million viewers overall), also placing second in 18-49 but first in other categories, including total viewers.
NBC, which has led Monday in adults 18-49 for most weeks this season, saw both “Deal or No Deal” (4.8/12 in 18-49, 16.8 million viewers overall) and “Heroes” (6.1/14 in 18-49, 13.6 million viewers overall) win their hours despite dipping from their strong scores of a week earlier. And at 10, “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” (3.0/8 in 18-49, 7.0 million viewers overall) again retained less than half of its demo lead-in and placed second.
ABC’s unscripted skeins remained solid from 8 to 10, as a repeat “Wife Swap” (3.2/8 in 18-49, 8.0 million viewers overall) ran third in 18-49, as did a firstrun “Supernanny” at 9 (3.5/8 in 18-49, 8.7 million viewers overall). And “What About Brian” finished out the night on the high side (2.7/7 in 18-49, 5.7 million viewers overall).
CBS, with its entire lineup in repeats, was led by “CSI: Miami” (3.9/10 in 18-49, 13.4 million viewers overall) and “Two and a Half Men” (3.5/8 in 18-49, 12.7 million viewers overall).
Preliminary 18-49 averages for the night: Fox, 4.8/12; NBC, 4.6/11; CBS, 3.2/8; ABC, 3.1/8; Univision, 1.8/4; CW, 1.1/3.
In total viewers: NBC, 12.5 million; Fox, 12.0 million; CBS, 10.7 million; ABC, 7.5 million; Univision, 4.1 million; CW, 2.4 million.
