CRIMINAL MINDS: I AM LOVING THIS NEWS!

ABC couldn't keep 'Dancing' all night
By Paul J. Gough

Nov 17, 2006

ABC unquestionably won 8-9 p.m. with the crowning of the winner of "Dancing With The Stars," but it was CBS that was victorious in the last two hours with "Criminal Minds" and "CSI: NY."

The "Dancing With The Stars" finale put up a big number, with Nielsen Media Research estimating 27.2 million viewers tuned in to see former Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith take the prize. It was also the night's top show in adults 18-49, averaging a 7.0 rating/18 share.

But ABC didnt do as well with the two-hour premiere of "Daybreak," which is scheduled to hold the place for "Lost" until the latter drama comes back in February. "Daybreak" averaged 10.5 million viewers and a 3.7/10 in the demo; it dropped from 13.9 million viewers at 9 p.m. to 8.6 million viewers at 10:30 p.m.

It was trounced by "Criminal Minds" (16.6 million, 4.9/13), which has been on a run of late. "Criminal Minds jumped from 15.8 million viewers at 9 p.m. to 17.3 million at 9:30 p.m. The two-hour season premiere of "Medium" couldn't keep pace either, bringing in 9.4 million viewers and a 3.5/9 in the demo.

The 10 p.m. hour was all CBS, with "CSI: NY" (16.3 million viewers, 5.1/14) ahead of the second halves of both "CSI: NY" and "Medium."

Nightly averages: ABC (16.1 million, 4.8/12); CBS (14 million, 4.4/11); NBC (8.4 million, 3.3/8); Fox (6.8 million, 2.5/6); and The CW (4 million, 1.7/4).

Find this article at:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3iB3DRYBuyBfuzLKwk/regEA==