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CBS pulls off an
easy win Friday night

Averages a 1.9 in 18-49s, for a 21 percent lead

By Toni Fitzgerald
Nov 16, 2009

With three of the night's top four shows, CBS earned another easy Friday victory, finishing well ahead of ABC and NBC, which tied for second.

CBS averaged a 1.9 adults 18-49 rating and 6 share, according to Nielsen overnights, with ABC and NBC at 1.5/5, 21 percent behind CBS. Univision was fourth at 1.3/4.

CBS's "Ghost Whisperer" was the night's top show, averaging a 2.0 rating at 8 p.m. Lead-out "Medium" tied for No. 2 on the night with a 1.9, and both programs won their timeslots.

CBS trailed only at 10 p.m., where ABC's "20/20" averaged a 1.9, just edging CBS's "Numb3rs" at 1.8.

Fox  continued to see improvement on Friday after putting its originals on hiatus, though still posting very low numbers. The combination of "House" and "Bones" reruns averaged a fifth-place 1.1/4, up 38 percent from what "Brothers," "'Til Death" and "Dollhouse" averaged in their last outings before the November sweeps began.

The CW placed sixth for the evening with a 0.9/3, though "Smallville" did win the 8 p.m. timeslot among men 18-34 with a 1.3 rating.

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. Thirty-three percent of Nielsen households have DVRs.

At 8 p.m., "Whisperer" led with a 2.0, followed by NBC's "Law & Order" at 1.7. ABC's "Supernanny" was third at 1.4, Univision's "El Nombre del Amor" fourth at 1.3, CW's "Smallville" fifth at 1.2 and Fox's "House" rerun sixth with a 1.1.

At 9 p.m., "Medium" led with a 1.9, followed by NBC's "Dateline NBC" at 1.7. Univision's "Sortilegio" was third at 1.5, ABC's "Ugly Betty" fourth at 1.3, Fox's "Bones" rerun fifth at 1.2 and the CW's "America's Next Top Model" rerun sixth at 1.2.

At 10 p.m., ABC's "20/20" won the timeslot for the third straight week, averaging a 1.9, 0.1 ahead of CBS's "Numb3rs." NBC's "The Jay Leno Show" was third at 1.2, followed by Univision at 1.1.

Among households CBS also won the night with a 5.1/9. NBC was second at 4.3/8, ABC third at 3.6/6, Fox fourth at 2.5/4, Univision sixth at 1.8/3 and the CW sixth at 1.3/2.

Toni Fitzgerald is a staff writer for Media Life.	© 2010 Media Life Magazine

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