NBC continued its strong start to the new year yesterday, just barely edging CBS and ABC for first place thanks to a big edition of “Deal or No Deal.”

NBC averaged a 3.1 adults 18-49 rating and 8 share, according to Nielsen overnights, just ahead of the other two Big Three networks, which both averaged a 3.0/8.

“Deal” paced NBC with a strong start to the night at 8 p.m., averaging a 3.6 and placing 0.6 ahead of second-place “Wife Swap” on ABC, the biggest margin of victory for any hour last night. “Deal” posted NBC’s highest rating in the timeslot in more than a year.

The fifth-season premiere of “Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” which aired on USA last fall and will now be repeated on NBC, lost a good chunk of that lead-in, however, averaging a third-place 2.5.

At 10 p.m., the second episode of “Law & Order” perked back up to a 3.1. That was off 18 percent from last week’s 3.8 for its debut, but the show still placed second in the timeslot.

The news was not as encouraging for another show airing its second episode of the season. ABC’s new “Cashmere Mafia,” which premiered Sunday after “Desperate Housewives,” finished last in its regular 10 p.m. timeslot with a 2.3 average, off 39 percent from a 3.8 for Sunday’s debut.

Meanwhile, for the night, Fox and Univision tied for fourth at 1.4/4 and CW placed sixth at 0.9/2.
 
At 8 p.m. NBC began the night in the lead with a 3.6 for “Deal,” followed by ABC with a 3.0 for “Wife Swap.” CBS was third with a 1.7 for “Power of 10,” Univision fourth with a 1.5 for “Amar sin Limites,” Fox fifth with a 1.4 for an hour of “Back to You” repeats and CW sixth with a 0.7 for “Crowned.”
 
CBS took the lead at 9 p.m. with a 3.9 for “Criminal Minds,” the night’s highest-rated show, with ABC second with a 3.6 for “Supernanny.” NBC was third with a 2.5 for “CI,” Univision fourth with a 1.5 for “Pasion,” Fox fifth with a 1.4 for an hour of “Til Death” reruns and CW sixth with a 1.1 for “Gossip Girl.” “Girl” delivered a 1.5 in the CW’s target 18-34s, its best average for a new episode since Dec. 5.
 
At 10 p.m. CBS led again with a 3.5 for “CSI: NY,” while NBC climbed up to second with a 3.1 for “L&O.” ABC was third with a 2.3 for “Cashmere” and Univision fourth with a 1.3 for “Don Francisco Presenta.”
 
Among households, NBC was first for the night with a 7.4 average overnight rating and a 12 share. CBS was second at 6.8/11, ABC third at 5.1/8, Fox fourth at 2.5/4, Univision fifth at 1.8/3 and CW sixth at 1.5/2.