Overnights
CBS's 'Big Brother' hits a season high
By Toni Fitzgerald
Aug 15, 2007 - 11:59:01 AM

After a slowish start, CBS’s “Big Brother” seems to be heating up. The long-running reality show posted its best rating of the summer last night, days after a contentious vote boosted ratings for last Thursday’s show.

“Brother” averaged a season-high 3.2 adults 18-49 rating, according to Nielsen overnights, its best Tuesday showing of the season. In fact, CBS nearly tied NBC, the usual dominant network, in the timeslot, finishing just 0.1 behind the combination of “America’s Got Talent” and “The Singing Bee.”

“Brother” jumped 10 percent over last week’s 2.9 average and helped CBS to second on the evening.

The eighth season of the reality show has been rising of late after falling slightly behind last year’s average for the start of the season. Last Thursday’s episode, in which Kail was ousted in a 4-3 vote, averaged a 3.0 rating, up 15 percent over the previous week.

Meanwhile, NBC led the night among 18-49s with a 2.8 average overnight rating and a 9 share, while CBS came in second at 2.2/7. ABC was third at 2.1/7, Fox and Univision tied for fourth at 1.3/4, and CW sixth at 0.5/1.
 
NBC led all three hours of the night, starting with a 2.9 at 8 p.m. for the first hour of “Talent.” ABC was second that hour with a 2.4 for an hour of “Just for Laughs,” with CBS third with a 2.1 for a repeat of “NCIS,. Fox and Univision tied for fourth at 0.9, Fox for “On the Lot” and Univision for “Amar sin Limites,” and CW placed sixth with a 0.5 for a repeat of “Gilmore Girls.”
 
At 9 p.m. NBC led again, this time with a 3.3 average for the last half hour of “Talent” (3.5) and a new episode of “Bee” (3.2). CBS was a close second with a 3.2 for “Big Brother,” with ABC third with a 2.1 for “Primetime,” Univision fourth with a 1.9 for “Destilando Amor,” Fox fifth with a 1.8 for a “House” rerun and CW sixth with a 0.4 for a repeat of “Beauty and the Geek.”
 
At 10 p.m. NBC led with a 2.2 for a repeat of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” followed by ABC with a 1.8 for “i-Caught,” down from a 2.2 last week. CBS was third with a 1.2 for a repeat of “The Unit” and Univision fourth with a 1.0 for “S.O.S. Sexo y Otros Secretos.”
 
NBC also finished first for the night among households, averaging a 6.0 overnight rating and a 10 share. CBS was second at 4.5/8, ABC third at 4.1/7, Fox fourth at 2.4/4, Univision fifth at 1.7/3 and CW sixth at 0.9/2.