Every Thursday night, somebody on CBS’s “Big Brother” is evicted from the compound. Last night’s vote was a close one, and the early ratings reflect that.

“Big Brother” last night posted a 3.0 overnight rating among viewers 18-49, up 15.4 percent versus the 2.6 it posted last week and good for the top spot in its 8 p.m. timeslot and the No. 1 show for the night in the demo.

The show also was up 11.1 percent versus the 2.7 final rating the show has averaged on Thursdays so far this summer. It attracted 8.0 million total viewers, up 12.7 percent versus the 7.1 who tuned in last week.

On last night’s episode, the eviction vote came down to small business owner Kail and Eric, the type of scheming personality who seems to thrive on these types of reality shows. In the end, Kail was eliminated, falling in a close 4-3 vote.

“Brother” helped CBS finished first for the night among viewers 18-49 with a 2.7 average rating and a 9 share. Fox was a close second at 2.7/8, with Univision third at 1.6/5, NBC fourth at 1.5/5, ABC fifth at 1.3/4 and CW sixth at 0.9/3.

Also last night, Fox kicked off its NFL coverage with a preseason game between the Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts and the Dallas Cowboys.

Fast national ratings, which will likely change because the game aired live, showed the game averaged a 2.8 overnight rating from 8-10:30 p.m., up 33 percent versus the 2.1 for a preseason game last year on a comparable night.

In the hour-by-hour tally, CBS won at 8 its 3.0 for “Big Brother,” followed by Fox with a 2.9 for its first hour of its preseason game.

NBC was third with a 1.6 average for repeats of “My Name is Earl” and “30 Rock,” ABC fourth with a 1.3 for a repeat of “Ugly Betty,” Univision fifth with a 1.1 for “Amar sin Limites” and CW sixth with a 0.7 for a “Smallville” rerun.

Fox took the lead at 9 p.m. with a 2.8 for its second hour of football, with CBS slipping to second with a 2.7 for a repeat of “CSI.”

Univision was third with a 2.1 for “Destilando Amor,” NBC fourth with a 1.8 for repeats of “The Office” and “Scrubs,” ABC fifth with a 1.5 for a repeat of “Grey’s Anatomy” and CW sixth with a 0.8 for a “Supernatural” rerun.

CBS regained the lead at 10 p.m. with a 2.5 for a repeat of “Without a Trace,” while Fox fell back to second with a 2.4 for more football. Univision was third with a 1.7 for “Aqui y Ahora,” ABC fourth with a 1.2 for a repeat of “Men in Trees” and NBC fifth with a 1.1 for a repeat of “ER.”

Among households, CBS led the night with a 6.2 average rating and an 11 share. Fox was second at 4.7/8, ABC third at 2.9/5, NBC fourth at 2.5/4, Univision fifth at 1.9/3 and CW sixth at 1.6/3.