Overnights
Teen steam: Solid debut for 'One Tree'
By Toni Fitzgerald
Jan 9, 2008 - 11:44:06 AM

Flashing forward provided a nice bump for the CW. The season premiere of “One Tree Hill,” in which the soap’s teenagers aged four years from spring’s fourth-season finale, boosted the network to its best Tuesday of the year in its target demographic, as well as its top Tuesday since last spring.

“Hill” averaged a 2.1 adults 18-34 rating from 8 to 10 p.m., according to Nielsen overnights, matching last year’s season premiere. That debut, however, came after the network’s top-rated show, “America’s Next Top Model,” whereas this year’s bow didn’t have that lead-in support.

The CW placed second for the night behind surging NBC in the demographic, just ahead of Fox, and delivered its best Tuesday numbers since May of last year. "Beauty and the Geek" and "Reaper" had been on Tuesdays last fall.

The network also ranked first among teens and female teens, which has always been “Hill’s” strength. In a year where many shows have seen their ratings decline for their premieres, partly due to the increased number of digital video recorders, the unique plot twist likely pulled in additional viewers.

If “Hill” was one of the night’s winners, CBS’s “People’s Choice Awards” was one of the losers, through no fault of the network’s. The strike forced a revised format for the annual awards show that didn’t capture viewers’ attention. The show averaged just a 1.6 adults 18-49 rating from 9 to 11 p.m., less than half last year’s 3.5.

NBC finished first for the night among 18-49s with a 4.6 average overnight rating and a 12 share. Fox was second at 2.8/7, CBS third at 1.9/5, Univision and CW tied for fourth at 1.5/4, and ABC fifth at 1.3/3.
 
At 8 p.m. NBC started the night in the lead with a 3.7 rating for its first hour of “The Biggest Loser,” followed by CBS with a 2.4 for a repeat of “NCIS.” Fox was third with a 2.0 for a repeat of “Bones,” Univision and ABC tied for fourth at 1.7, Univision for “Amar sin Limites” and ABC for “Just for Laughs” (1.8) and “According to Jim” (1.6), and CW sixth with a 1.5 for its first hour of “Hill.”
 
NBC led again at 9 p.m. with a 4.9 for its second half of “Loser,” with Fox second with a 3.6 for a “House” rerun. CBS was third with a 1.8 for the first half of “Choice,” Univision fourth with a 1.7 for “Pasion,” CW fifth with a 1.6 for the second half of “One Tree Hill” and ABC sixth with a 1.1 for an ABC News special (1.2) and “Carpoolers” (1.1).
 
At 10 p.m. NBC led again with a 5.1 for “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” while CBS moved to second with a 1.4 for the last half of the “People’s Choice Awards.” Univision was third with a 1.2 for “Aqui y Ahora” and ABC fourth with a 1.0 for a repeat of “Cashmere Mafia.”
 
Among households, NBC was first for the night with a 7.6 average overnight rating and a 12 share. CBS was second at 5.5/9, Fox third at 5.4/8, ABC fourth at 3.0/5, CW fifth at 2.3/4 and Univision sixth at 1.7/3.