CBS, Fox repeat yearly ratings wins

Fri., May 26, 2006

Associated Press The Spokesman-Review

CBS and Fox reign supreme at the end of a television season marked by stability in Americans’ viewing habits.

CBS was the nation’s most popular broadcast network for the fourth consecutive year, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Fox, after winning last year for the first time among the 18- to 49-year-old demographic that advertisers pay a premium to reach, repeated that feat for the 2005-2006 season that officially ended Wednesday night.

Through Sunday night, CBS was averaging 12.6 million viewers a night in prime time, down 2 percent from last year. ABC was the second-most popular network (10.8 million average), followed by Fox (9.9 million) and NBC (9.7 million) – the same order as last season.

ABC was the only broadcast network to increase in viewership this year, bolstered by the growth of “Grey’s Anatomy” and a new hit in “Dancing With the Stars,” Nielsen said.

The race among 18- to 49-year-old viewers was closer. After first-place Fox, ABC was second, followed by CBS and NBC. The only change from last year was ABC and CBS switching places.

It was another disheartening showing for NBC, which repeated last year’s unprecedented fourth-place rankings and lost viewers even in a season where it broadcast the Winter Olympics.

The Tuesday performance edition of “American Idol” was again the most popular show of the season, averaging 31.1 million viewers going into this week – up from 27.3 million last season.

It was followed Wednesday’s “Idol” results show, CBS’ “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” and ABC’s “Desperate Housewives” and “Grey’s Anatomy.”

NBC retools – already

In an extraordinary move, NBC has completely revamped the new fall schedule it announced at the beginning of last week.

The network moved “Law & Order” to Friday nights, took “Medium” off the schedule until midseason and shifted “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,” its highly touted Aaron Sorkin series about the backstage world of a TV sketch comedy show, from Thursday to Monday.

The changes were prompted after ABC later last week announced it was moving its Sunday night hit “Grey’s Anatomy” to Thursday night next fall opposite “Studio 60.” So Sorkin’s show was shifted to Monday night, displacing “Medium.”

Before it was finished, NBC made changes on every night except Saturday.

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