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'Survivor: China'
debut takes a tumble


CBS series falls 16 percent from last spring's premiere

Sep 21, 2007

CBS’s “Survivor” continued its long slide last night with its 15th season debut, posting its worst fall premiere numbers ever, though the show still dominated its timeslot.

“Survivor: China” averaged a 4.9 adults 18-49 rating, according to Nielsen overnights, down 16 percent from a 5.8 for last spring’s most recent premiere. It was also way down from a 6.3 for its debut this time last year.

“Survivor” has been slipping for several cycles. Last spring was the show’s lowest-rated ever, though that mirrored spring viewership losses seen by many hits across the networks.

Still, “Survivor” seems likely to remain No. 1 in its 8 p.m. timeslot when the other broadcast competition premieres next week. Last night it still outpaced the combined total for the hour’s No. 2 and No. 3 shows, Fox’s “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader” and NBC’s “My Name Is Earl” repeat.

And among total viewers, “Survivor” averaged 15.1 million total viewers, which is pretty good for a show in its 15 season.

Meanwhile, CBS finished first for the night among viewers 18-49 with a 3.9 average overnight rating and an 11 share. Fox was second at 2.6/8, NBC third at 2.1/6, Univision fourth at 1.8/5, ABC fifth at 1.6/5 and CW sixth at 0.8/2.
 
CBS led each hour of the night, starting with a 4.9 at 8 p.m. for “Survivor.” Fox was second with a 2.3 for “Smarter,” NBC third with a 2.2 for an hour of “Earl” repeats, ABC fourth with a 1.4 for a repeat of “Ugly Betty,” Univision fifth with a 1.2 for “Amar sin Limites” and CW sixth with a 0.6 for the first hour of a “Beauty and the Geek” repeat.
 
At 9 p.m. CBS led again with a 3.9 for a repeat of “CSI,” followed by Fox with a 2.9 for “Don’t Forget the Lyrics.” NBC was third with a 2.4 for an hour of “The Office” repeats, Univision fourth with a 2.1 for the first hour of the special “Latin Grammy Celebra: Marco Antonio Solis,” ABC fifth with a 1.9 for a “Grey’s Anatomy” rerun and CW sixth with a 0.9 for the second half of its “Beauty and the Geek” repeat.
 
At 10 p.m. CBS was first with a 2.9 for a repeat of “Without a Trace,” with Univision second with a 2.0 for the second half of its “Latin Grammy” special. NBC was third with a 1.6 for a repeat of “ER” and ABC fourth with a 1.4 for a “Men in Trees” rerun.
 
Among households, CBS comfortably finished first for the night with an 8.6 average overnight rating and a 14 share, followed by Fox at 5.1/8. ABC was third at 3.4/6, NBC fourth at 3.2/5, Univision fifth at 2.2/4 and CW sixth at 1.3/2.



Toni Fitzgerald is a staff writer for Media Life.




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