CBS keeps ratings lead

Last week was another winning one for CBS, which dominated the ratings with six of the top 10 shows – while conspiring with Fox and ABC to shut out NBC.

CBS’ lineup was led by second-place “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” according to Nielsen Media Research, followed by “Survivor: Palau” (No. 5 and 8), “CSI: Miami” (No. 6), “Everybody Loves Raymond” (No. 7) and “Without a Trace” (No. 9).

Fox had three shows in the top 10, with its two editions of “American Idol” finishing first and fourth and “House” at No. 10.

ABC’s red-hot “Desperate Housewives” beat the “Survivor” finale in their shared Sunday time slot to take third place for the week.

NBC’s most-viewed program was “ER,” in 13th place.

For the week, CBS averaged 14.8 million viewers in prime time (9.3 household rating, 16 share). Fox was a distant second with 9.3 million viewers (5.8, 10), followed by ABC with 9.11 million (6.0, 10), NBC with 9.08 million (6.2 rating, 10 share), UPN with 3.8 million (2.4 rating, 4 share), and the WB with 3.3 million (2.2 rating, 4 share).

A ratings point represents 1,096,000 households, or 1 percent of the nation’s estimated 109.6 million TV homes. The share is the percentage of in-use televisions tuned to a given show.