Overnights
ABC sees a lift without 'Opportunity'
By Toni Fitzgerald
Oct 22, 2008 - 11:29:38 AM

ABC remains in fourth place on Tuesday night, but it did give its lineup a boost by replacing the ailing game show “Opportunity Knocks.” Subbing in a “Dancing with the Stars” recap, the network saw its 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. hours rise en route to a stronger night overall.

ABC averaged a 2.7 adults 18-49 rating and 7 share last night, according to Nielsen overnights, up 17 percent from a 2.3/6 last week. That was still well behind Fox’s winning 4.7/13, but it helped stabilize a night that had been slipping.

The “Stars” recap placed fourth in its 8 p.m. timeslot with a 2.0, but that was up 35 percent from “Opportunity's” series-low 1.3 rating last week. The network benched the show a few days later, though it has not been officially canceled.

The more compatible lead-in helped boost 9 p.m.’s “Stars” results show from a 3.3 last week to a 3.8 last night, within 0.2 of Fox’s winning “Fringe.”

“Stars” also managed to best CBS’s competing new show “The Mentalist” among total viewers, with 16 million to the latter’s 15.3 million.

Still, the 10 p.m. hour remains problematic. “Eli Stone” was even to last week despite getting a bigger lead-in, averaging a third-place 2.2.

As a reminder, all ratings are based on live-plus-same-day DVR playback. Seven-day DVR data won’t be available for several weeks. Twenty-eight percent of Nielsen households have DVRs.
 
For the night, CBS was second behind Fox at 3.2/9, NBC third at 3.1/8, ABC fourth at 2.7/7, Univision fifth at 1.6/4 and CW sixth at 0.7/2.
 
At 8 p.m. Fox was first with a 5.5 for “House,” the night’s highest-rated show, with CBS second with a 3.6 for “NCIS.” NBC was third with a 2.6 for the first hour of “The Biggest Loser,” ABC fourth with a 2.0 for the “Stars” recap, Univision fifth with a 1.8 for “Cuidado con el Angel” and CW sixth with a 0.6 for a “90210” rerun.
 
Fox was first again at 9 p.m. with a 4.0 for “Fringe,” while ABC moved to second with a 3.8 for a “Dancing with the Stars” results show. CBS was third with a 3.4 for “The Mentalist,” NBC fourth with a 3.1 for more “Loser,” Univision fifth with a 1.9 for “Fuego en la Sangre” and CW sixth with a 0.7 for “Privileged.”
 
At 10 p.m. NBC took the lead with a 3.5 for “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” followed by CBS with a 2.6 for “Without a Trace.” ABC was third with a 2.2 for “Eli Stone” and Univision fourth with a 1.2 for “Aqui y Ahora.”
 
CBS was first for the night among households with a 9.3 average overnight rating and a 15 share. ABC was second at 7.5/12, Fox third at 6.7/10, NBC fourth at 5.1/8, Univision fifth at 2.2/3 and CW sixth at 1.1/2.