Steep ratings slide for Monday's 'Miss Universe'
   There was a time when beauty pageants like "Miss America" and "Miss Universe" drew 20 million or more viewers and people planned their schedules around them.
   That time has long since passed. The latest example of how far beauty pageants have slipped came Monday night when "Miss Universe" hit its lowest viewership in at least four years and was off 14 percent from last year.
   According to Nielsen overnights, Miss Canada’s victory on NBC averaged a 6.0 overnight household rating, down 13 percent versus last year’s 6.9, while it averaged 8.97 million total viewers, down 14 percent from last year’s 10.48 million.
   If the numbers hold, both will be the event’s lowest since 2001’s pageant earned a 5.8 rating and averaged 8.27 million viewers. Just 15 years ago, it attracted more than 13 million.
   A rerun of CBS’s “CSI: Miami” was Monday night’s highest-rated show among viewers 18-49 with a 4.0 average rating during the 10 p.m. timeslot. CBS led the night in the demo with a 3.2 average rating and a 9 share, while NBC and Fox tied for second, each at 2.8/8. ABC finished fourth for the night at 2.3/6, UPN fifth at 0.9/2 and the WB sixth at 0.8/2.
   A Miss USA-themed rerun of “Fear Factor” earned NBC a 2.3 average rating at 8 p.m., tying it for first with a rerun of “Nanny 911” on Fox. CBS was third during the hour with a 2.0 average for reruns of “Still Standing” (2.1) and “Listen Up” (1.9).
   CBS took the lead at 9 p.m. with a 3.5 average for repeats of “Everybody Loves Raymond” (3.4) and “Two and a Half Men” (3.5). Fox was second with a 3.2 average for the premiere of the reality series “Hell’s Kitchen” and NBC third with a 2.7 for the first hour of “Miss Universe.”
   At 10 p.m. CBS led with its 4.0 average for “CSI: Miami.” NBC was second with a 3.5 for the last half of “Miss Universe” and ABC third with a 2.5 average for the last hour of the NBA playoff game between the San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns.
   Among households, CBS led for the night with a 7.1 average rating and a 12 share. NBC finished second at 5.3/9, ABC and Fox tied for third at 4.1/7, the WB was fifth at 1.6/3 and UPN was sixth at 1.4/2.

MLM exclusive: Deep Throat was not Hal Holbrook
If you thought you’d solved the Watergate mystery the third time you saw “All The President’s Men,” shouting “That’s Hal Holbrook in the shadows!” guess again. The real Deep Throat turns out to be not Holbrook, not Alexander Haig and not a combination of several sources, as many had speculated over the years. It was and is W. Mark Felt, the No. 2 FBI guy during the Nixon administration. Yesterday one of the biggest secrets in journalism, and probably the best-kept one in the history of loose-lipped Washington, was solved after Felt’s family confirmed the ID in an upcoming Vanity Fair story. The Washington Post, where reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein used Deep Throat’s inside information to follow the money and eventually uncover the Watergate coverup, also confirmed Felt’s identity. The now-91-year-old Felt had repeatedly denied that he was Deep Throat, and Woodward, Bernstein and editor Ben Bradlee had agreed to keep the secret until his death. His family said yesterday that he unmasked himself because Deep Throat is now considered more of a hero than a traitor.

With demand down, WB cuts weekday kids' block
Kids who want their daily after-school fix of cartoons better have cable. Animation-filled afternoons on broadcast TV networks are about to become extinct now that The WB has decided to get rid of its afternoon Kids WB! block. Starting in January the network will replace the 3-5 p.m. weekday block with sitcom reruns. As a result, the Kids WB! Saturday morning block will be extended an hour and run from 7 a.m.-noon. With cable channels like Nickelodeon, Disney, Cartoon and others only gaining popularity, the Kids WB! had the same problem every other kid-oriented show is facing: Too much ad inventory, not enough demand. The broadcast networks have become bit players in the children’s market, where this year price increases are expected to average somewhere in the mid-single digit percentages. And the cable competition keeps growing. Yesterday HBO Family picked up the BBC’s preschool-aimed animated show “Postman Pat,” which has been around since 1981. The network will air 26 episodes of “Pat” this fall, with an accompanying line of educational products to be launched sometime next year.

Nielsen delays LPM rollout in Philadelphia & D.C.
After loud protests from broadcasters, Nielsen has agreed to delay the launch of its local people meters in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., just one day before they were slated to roll out. In a statement this morning, Nielsen pushed off the rollout to June 30, citing "the request of many clients and the Media Ratings Council." That came after an angry letter exchange between broadcasters and Nielsen president Susan Whiting over the launch following months of testing. CBS, NBC, Fox owner News Corp., Cox Television, Gannett, Emmis, Scripps and other station owners signed a letter last week from Tribune Broadcasting president Pat Mullen asking Nielsen to delay the launches until the systems received full Media Ratings Council accreditation. So far, only two of five LPM markets have full accreditation; three others are conditional. Whiting answered Mullen by saying that Nielsen intended to move ahead before receiving MRC accreditation and suggesting that the station owners were attempting to influence the makeup of the sample viewers in those markets through their protests. Yesterday Mullen fired right back, offering to meet face to face over the issue and denying that his letter was an attempt to sway the makeup of the sample viewers in those markets. But this morning Nielsen suddenly changed its stance, saying, "This extension will allow for the comparison of demographic data from the May measurement period." Nielsen added, "It is apparent that many of our clients in these markets require more time to understand the impact that this change in methodology will have on their businesses."

NY Times courts the young crowd with p.m. tab
The streets of New York City are about to fill up with more people pushing free newspapers. Beginning June 9, The New York Times will start distributing MarketPlace, a free tabloid-sized weekly heavy on classified ads with content reprinted from the regular daily Times. The Times is starting modestly, handing out 150,000 copies of the paper every Thursday between 3:30-730 p.m. at 250 locations. MarketPlace is the latest to join the trend of free commuter papers aimed at younger readers. It joins New York’s dailies amNewYork and Metro New York, as well as free papers in other cities like Washington, D.C., Chicago and Dallas that hoped to get people 18-34 into the news habit, though whether they've been working is debatable. New York Times advertisers will have the option of adding MarketPlace to their regular ad schedules, but the paper will also have its own exclusive ads.

OLN & GSN chase syndie rights to CBS reality
You didn’t have the sense to tape Sue’s infamous snake and rat speech at the final tribal council five years ago. Well, you’re in luck. CBS’s two biggest reality hits, “Survivor” and “The Amazing Race,” are about to get syndication deals on cable. It’s expected that Outdoor Life Network will get rights to all 160 episodes of 10 seasons’ worth of “Survivor,” and GSN is close to a deal for the rights to the seven seasons of “Amazing Race.” King World will be involved in the distribution of both shows, but no financial terms have been revealed. Last season on CBS, “Survivor” averaged about 20 million viewers while “Amazing Race” averaged a series-best 13 million. In other programming, TLC has ordered eight episodes of the reality show “Going Hollywood,” which follows a group of production company interns. The show is scheduled to debut in the fall. And MTV Networks has announced plans for an October launch of Tempo, a music and culture network in the Caribbean. Tempo could eventually reach the U.S.