DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES - NBC BACK IN FIRST PLACE -- FOR NOW

NBC BACK IN FIRST PLACE -- FOR NOW

The first week of the new year was dominated by football, with Saturday's NFL Playoff Game between the San Diego Chargers and the Indianapolis Colts watched by 27.8 million viewers. Indeed, while Saturday is ordinarily the lightest day of television viewing, it turned out that this week, thanks to the game, it drew more viewers than any other day. And the game itself attracted nearly twice the audience of the most-watched entertainment series, ABC's Desperate Housewives. It also brought NBC, often the fourth-ranked network these days, a victory for the week among both overall households and adults 18-49. It finished the week with an average 5.7 rating and a 10 share. CBS placed second with a 5.3/9. Fox came in third with a 5.2/9, while ABC trailed with a 3.9/6.

The top ten shows of the week according to Nielsen Research 1. NFL Playoff Game 2, NBC, 16.1/27; 2. NFL Playoff 2 Pre-Kickoff, NBC, 13.1/23; 3. NFC Wildcard Postgame, Fox, 9.8/16; 4. Desperate Housewives , ABC, 8.8/13; 5. 60 Minutes , CBS, 8.1/13; 5. NCIS, CBS, 8.1/13; 7. Cold Case, CBS, 7.9/12; 8.Sugar Bowl, Fox, 7.8/13; 9. CSI Miami, CBS, 7.3/12; 10. Two and a Half Men, CBS, 7.2/11.

08/01/2009