CBS easily comes out on top of weekly sweeps ratings

TV viewers never seem to get tired of solving crimes, judging by the ratings.

A trio of CBS whodunits – “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” “CSI: Miami” and “Without a Trace” – were the three most popular prime-time programs last week, according to Nielsen Media Research.

And Court TV logged the biggest audience in its history last week when 2.7 million people tuned in Friday afternoon to catch the Scott Peterson murder trial verdict.

CBS logged six of the top 10 prime-time shows, including yet another crime drama: “Cold Case.” Together with the strong performance of the disaster epic “Category 6: Day of Destruction,” the network easily won the week during a ratings “sweeps” month. CBS also handily won among viewers aged 18 to 49, the demographic sought most by advertisers.

The “American Music Awards,” a showcase event that ABC would normally be happy for, actually hurt the network by pre-empting the popular “Desperate Housewives” on Sunday night. The music awards show was seen by 12.9 million – about half of what “Housewives” had the week before, and considerably fewer than the 18.5 million who watched the Country Music Association awards on CBS earlier in the week.