In her second outing, “Ugly Betty” lured back most of last week’s audience and managed to top CBS’s “Survivor” among households. She also helped ABC to its third straight Thursday night victory among adults 18-49, though the network does seem to have a problem at 10 p.m.

“Betty” averaged a 4.4 rating in adults 18-49 last night, according to Nielsen overnights, down only 10 percent from last week’s 4.9 rating for its premiere. Equally important, the 8 p.m. “Betty” once again rose in its second half hour leading into “Grey’s Anatomy,” jumping 26 percent from a 3.9 to a 4.9 and finishing a point behind “Survivor.”

“Betty” bettered “Survivor” among households, though barely, with a 9.5 to the latter’s 9.4. The ABC show drew 14.2 million total viewers, also down from last week’s 16.1 million but still the fifth-most-watched show on competitive Thursday night.

“Betty” may bounce up and down a bit over the next few weeks, simply because the hour is so competitive. This week, for example, NBC’s 8 p.m. comedies were up over the previous week and “Survivor” was down. Viewers may switch between the shows depending on the weekly plotline, knowing that some of the shows are also available for free download at the networks’ web sites or on-demand if the live version is missed.

But while “Betty” is sitting pretty, ABC’s “Six Degrees” looks more and more like a sinker. The show dropped more than half of its “Grey’s” lead-in among 18-49s, falling 11 percent from last week’s 4.4 to a 3.9. And it dipped 23 percent from its first to its second half hour, from a 4.4 to a 3.4.

Plus, among total viewers, it finished a distant third in the timeslot with 9.65 million to CBS’s 13.76 million for “Shark” and NBC’s 14.62 million for “ER.”

“Shark” was also down from last week in 18-49s, from a 4.2 to a series-low 3.8.

Elsewhere, ABC’s “Grey’s” bounced back ahead of CBS’s “CSI” in total viewers for the second time in three outings, with 22.46 million to the latter’s 21.22 million.

For the night, ABC led with a 5.8 rating and 15 share in 18-49s, followed by CBS at 5.5/15, NBC at 4.4/12, Fox and the CW tied at 1.8/5, and Univision at 1.5/4. As a reminder, fast nationals are based on timeslot, not program, data, and Fox carried live baseball last night. As a result, its ratings will likely changed when final numbers are released later today.

At 8 p.m., “Survivor” led with a 5.6, followed by “Betty” at 4.4, NBC’s “My Name is Earl” (4.0, its best rating of the season) and “The Office” (4.1, the third time it’s beaten “Earl) at a 4.0, CW’s “Smallville” at 2.0, Univision’s “La Fea Mas Bella” at 1.7, and Fox’s New York Mets-Los Angeles Dodgers baseball game at 1.5.

At 9 p.m., “Grey’s” led for the third straight week with a 9.2, edging “CSI’s” 7.2. NBC’s “Deal or No Deal” was third at 3.2, followed by Fox’s baseball at 1.9, Univision’s “Mundo de Fieras” at 1.6, and CW’s “Supernatural” at 1.5.

At 10 p.m., NBC’s “ER” led at 6.0, followed by ABC’s “Degrees” at 3.9, CBS’s “Shark” at 3.8, Fox’s baseball at 2.0, and Univision’s “Aqui y Ahora” at 1.3.

Among households, CBS edged ABC, 10.7/17 to 10.3/16. NBC was third at 7.2/11, Fox fourth at 4.1/7, the CW fifth at 2.4/4, and Univision sixth at 1.5/4.