LAW AND ORDER - PEACOCK FLIES HIGH

The combination of football, a game show, and the two-hour return of Law and Order to Wednesday nights turned NBC, the usual fourth-place network, into last week's first-place network. The network placed six shows in the top ten, including the No. 1 telecast of the week, its Saturday telecast of the NFL playoff game between Jacksonville and Pittsburgh. Two episodes of the NBC game show Deal or No Deal also made the top ten. Not quite getting there was NBC's American Gladiators on Sunday night, which marked the season's top premiere among viewers overall and particularly among the key 18-49-year-old demographic. Also noteworthy were big numbers for CBS's 60 Minutes and a new episode of ABC's Desperate Housewives. For the week, NBC averaged a 7.1 rating and a 12 share. CBS was in second place with a 5.7/9, while ABC and Fox tied for third with a 5.3/9.

The top ten shows of the week according to Nielsen Research:
1. NBC NFL Playoff Game 2, NBC, 15.0/25; 2. NFL Playoff Pre-kickoff, NBC, 13.8/24; 3. NFL Playoff Bridge, NBC, 13.6/24; 4. AFC Wildcard Post-Game, CBS, 13.5/22; 5. Desperate Housewives, ABC, 12.0/18; 6. 60 Minutes, CBS, 11.6/18; 7. Law and Order, NBC, 8.9/14; 8. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CBS, 8.5/13; 9. Deal or No Deal (Monday), NBC, 8.2/13; 10. Deal or No Deal (Wednesday), NBC, 7.8/12; 10. Law and Order: SVU, NBC, 7.8/13.

09/01/2008