ABC - ABC AND CBS WAGE TIGHT RATINGS RACE

ABC and CBS engaged in a neck-and-neck ratings race Thursday, and when it was over, CBS came out ahead in households while ABC held a slight lead among viewers 18-49, according to overnight Nielsens. At 8:00 p.m., ABC's Ugly Betty posted a 7.9 rating and a 13 share, edging out CBS's Survivor: Fiji, which scored a nearly identical 7.8/13. Also making a surprisingly strong showing was Fox's Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, which placed third with a 6.3/10. The NBC sitcoms My Name Is Earl and The Office were barely in contention during the hour with a 5.0/8 and a 4.9/8 respectively. At 9:00 p.m., ABC remained in the lead with a 13.3/20 for Grey's Anatomy, just ahead of the 13.0/20 for CBS's CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. NBC's 30 Rock and Scrubs dragged the network far behind with each registering a puny 3.4/5. CBS moved ahead at 10:00 p.m., drawing a 10.3/17 for Shark. A new episode of NBC's venerable E.R. lifted the network to second place with a 6.8/11 -- double the audience of its two lead-ins. ABC declined to a 6.0/10 for October Road.

27/04/2007