NEW YORK - After relinquishing its crown to ABC the week before, CBS was back on top in prime-time viewers last week. It claimed nine of the week's Top 20 shows, including the No. 1 entry, "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," according to Nielsen Media Research.
In the first 17 weeks of the season, CBS has been first in viewers 15 times.
But there was good news, too, for NBC, the week's runner-up.
Although its "Golden Globe Awards" broadcast was beaten by ABC's "Desperate Housewives" (second-ranked for the week) and "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (in seventh place), the "Globes" cracked the Top 10. And the NBC drama "Medium," in its second week on the air, took the No. 12 slot.
Not quite so promising, however, was the performance of NBC's new sitcom, "Committed." In two airings last week, it ranked No. 35 and No. 43.
On Wednesday as well as Sunday, ABC glowed. Kicking off the night with its freshman hit "Lost" (ranked No. 6), ABC won its sixth consecutive Wednesday.
For the week, CBS averaged 13.9 million viewers (9.0 rating, 14 share). NBC had 12.3 million viewers (8.2 rating, 13 share), while ABC had 10.7 million (6.8 rating, 11 share) and Fox 9.8 million (6.0 rating, 9 share). UPN had 3.4 million (2.3 rating, 3 share), the WB 2.7 million (1.9 rating, 3 share), and Pax TV 650,000 viewers (0.5 rating, 1 share).
NBC's "Nightly News" handily won the evening news ratings race, averaging 11.4 million viewers (8.0 rating, 15 share). ABC's "World News Tonight" had 10.6 million viewers (7.3 rating, 13 share) and "The CBS Evening News" had 8.3 million viewers (5.8 rating, 11 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.
Prime-time viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen Media Research for Jan. 10-16. Top 20 listings include the week's ranking, with viewership and season-to-date rankings in parentheses.
An "X" in parentheses denotes a one-time-only presentation.
1. (1) "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 27.6 million viewers.
2. (2) "Desperate Housewives," ABC, 24.1 million viewers.
3. (X) NFC Playoff, St. Louis at Atlanta, Fox, 23.7 million viewers.
4. (X) AFC Playoff-Postgame, Indianapolis at New England, CBS, 23.6 million viewers.
5. (X) NFC Playoff-Pregame, St. Louis at Atlanta, Fox, 21.4 million viewers.
6. (12) "Lost," ABC, 20.8 million viewers.
7. (19) "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," ABC, 20.4 million viewers.
8. (4) "Without a Trace," CBS, 18.8 million viewers.
9. (8) "ER," NBC, 18.4 million viewers.
10. (X) "Golden Globe Awards," NBC, 16.8 million viewers.
11. (13) "60 Minutes," CBS, 16.5 million viewers.
12. (10) "Medium," NBC, 16.3 million viewers.
13. (18) "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," NBC, 15.9 million viewers.
14. (6) "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS, 15.7 million viewers.
15. (13) "Cold Case," CBS, 15.7 million viewers.
16. (16) "NCIS," CBS, 15.4 million viewers.
17. (19) "Law & Order," NBC, 14.7 million viewers.
18. (X) "CSI: NY," CBS, 14 million viewers.
19. (3) "CSI: Miami," CBS, 14 million viewers.
20. (16) "Alias," ABC, 13.9 million viewers.
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