Opposite the sort of fresh competition that’s largely been absent from broadcast the past six weeks because of the writers’ strike, NBC’s “Celebrity Apprentice” wilted a bit in its second outing.

The Donald Trump reality show averaged a 3.5 adults 18-49 rating, according to Nielsen overnights, down 22 percent from a 4.5 for its premiere last week.

There was good reason for the decline, however. “Apprentice” faced original episodes of ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” and CBS’s “CSI,” the first such shows in more than a month, on a rare night when the Big Four were almost entirely free of reruns.

“Grey’s” and “CSI” didn’t have their best ratings of the season. In fact, both were well off their season-to-date averages for original episodes, posting a 7.0 and a 5.0, respectively. But they provided much tougher competition than last week, when CBS and ABC combined for just a 5.3 in the hour.

When digital video recorder ratings are released in a few weeks, “Apprentice” could well see a bump from fans who caught one of the other two shows live. NBC may also pick up those viewers again next week, when both shows are back in repeats.

ABC was first for the night among viewers 18-49 with a 4.2 average overnight rating and an 11 share. CBS was second at 3.5/9, NBC third at 3.3/9, Fox fourth at 2.6/7, Univision fourth at 1.7/4 and CW sixth at 0.8/2.
 
At 8 p.m. ABC and NBC tied for the lead, each with a 3.1 rating, ABC for “Ugly Betty” and NBC for “My Name is Earl” (3.4) and “30 Rock” (2.8). Fox was third with a 2.9 for “Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?,” CBS fourth with a 2.1 for a repeat of “CSI: NY,” Univision fifth with a 1.7 for “Amar sin Limites” and CW sixth with a 0.9 for a “Smallville” rerun.
 
ABC took the lead outright at 9 p.m. with a 7.0 for “Grey’s,” while CBS jumped to second with a 5.0 for “CSI.” NBC was third with a 3.5 for “Apprentice,” Fox fourth with a 2.3 for “Don’t Forget the Lyrics,” Univision fifth with a 1.7 for “Pasion” and CW sixth with a 0.6 for a repeat of “Supernatural.”
 
NBC took the lead at 10 p.m. with a 3.5 for “ER,” with CBS a close second with a 3.4 for “Without a Trace.” ABC was fourth with a 2.6 for “Big Shots” and Univision fourth with a 1.6 for “Amas de Casa Desperadas.”
 
Among households, CBS was first for the night with an 8.8 average overnight rating and a 14 share. ABC was second at 7.7/12, NBC and Fox tied for third at 5.2/8, Univision fifth at 1.9/3 and CW sixth at 1.3/2.