Overnights
Quicker pulse for CBS's 'Pirate Master'
By Toni Fitzgerald
Jun 22, 2007 - 11:44:16 AM

“Pirate Master” is not a sinking ship after all. A week after posting a series low, the disappointing CBS reality show rebounded last night.

“Pirate” averaged a 1.9 in adults 18-49 last night, according to Nielsen overnights, up 27 percent over the previous week’s 1.5 overnight average.

The show may have benefited from a week-to-week ratings decrease for Fox’s “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” and ABC, which had basketball pregame last week and ran reruns last night, in the 8 p.m. timeslot, meaning lighter competition.

A 1.9 is still far from a solid rating, but any improvement at all for “Pirate,” Mark Burnett’s latest outdoor adventure, has to be seen as an unexpected positive. CBS already said earlier this month that “Pirate” will lose its prestigious Thursday night slot in July, when “Big Brother” returns.

Then “Pirate” will be vanquished to Tuesdays at 10, a slot where CBS has had nearly constant turnover for the past two years.

Meanwhile, Fox finished first for the night among viewers 18-49 with a 3.1 average overnight rating and a 10 share. CBS was second at 2.1/7, NBC third at 1.9/6, Univision fourth at 1.6/5, ABC fifth at 1.2/4 and CW sixth at 0.8/3.
 
For led at 8 p.m. with a 2.9 for “Grader,” while CBS took second with a 1.9 for “Pirate.” NBC was third with a 1.8 for an hour of “The Office” reruns, Univision fourth with a 1.4 average for “La Fea Mas Bella” (1.6) and “Yo Amo a Juan Querendon” (1.3), ABC fifth with a 1.1 for a repeat of “Ugly Betty” and CW sixth with a 0.7 for a “Smallville” repeat.
 
At 9 p.m. Fox led again, this time with a 3.4 for “So You Think You Can Dance,” which was down 15 percent from last week. CBS took second with a 2.5 for a repeat of “CSI.” NBC and Univision tied for third at 2.0, NBC for another hour of “Office” repeats and Univision for “Destilando Amor,” with ABC fifth with a 1.1 for a repeat of “Grey’s Anatomy” and CW sixth with a 0.8 for a repeat of “Supernatural.”
 
CBS took the lead at 10 p.m. with a 2.1 for a repeat of “Shark,” followed by NBC with a 1.8 for the penultimate “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.” ABC was third with a 1.4 for another “Grey’s Anatomy” repeat and Univision fourth with a 1.3 for “Aqui y Ahora.”
 
Among households, Fox was first for the night with a 5.8 average overnight rating and an 11 share. CBS was second at 5.2/9, NBC third at 2.8/5, ABC fourth at 2.7/5, Univision fifth at 2.1/4 and CW sixth at 1.2/2.