News Shorts

CBS in easy Thursday win against NBC repeats
NBC sat back on the most contested night of the week and handed CBS a win on Thursday. CBS zipped through the night without falling from No. 1 in the adult 18-49 demographic. The network averaged a 7.7 rating in the demographic with original episodes of “Survivor,” “CSI,” and “Without a Trace” that competed with repeats of NBC’s biggest hits. NBC had a 5.5 rating and trailed CBS by several rating points for most of the night. NBC’s low point came at 9:30 p.m., when the second half of CBS’s “CSI” had a 10.1 rating that was more than 5 points ahead of NBC’s “Good Morning, Miami.” NBC was most competitive at 8 p.m. with “Friends” and at 9 p.m. with a “Will & Grace” rerun jazzed up with info bubbles reminiscent of VH-1’s “Pop-Up Video.“ Meanwhile, Fox had a 1.9 with a one-hour repeat of “That 70s Show” and newsmagazine “The Pulse.” ABC averaged a 1.8 with mostly repeats of “Whose Line Is It Anyway,” which ran for two hours, and “Primetime” at 10 p.m. CBS also ranked No. 1 in households. The network had a 13.2 rating and 21 share, based on preliminary Nielsen data, compared to NBC’s 8.4/13, ABC’s 3.5/6 and Fox’s 2.7/4.

Fox takes Wednesday on 'Idol' power
Despite the breaking news coming from Iraq on Wednesday, television viewers stuck with entertainment programs, notably Fox’s “American Idol.” Fox, in fact, ranked No. 1 in the adult 18-49 demographic throughout its primetime run. “Idol” had the night’s best rating with a 9.1 at 8:30 p.m., but “That 70s Show,” “Bernie Mac” and “Wanda at Large” also far outpaced their time slot competitors. The only downside for Fox was a relatively weak performance for “Wanda,” which lost 13 percent of “Bernie’s” lead-in rating. The midseason sitcom, however, beat the second half of ABC’s “The Bachelor,” which appears to be faltering in its third version. The reality show averaged a 5.2 adult 18-49 rating at 9 p.m. That was good enough for second place but was more than a point behind Fox. Fox averaged a 6.8 rating for the night, based on preliminary Nielsen data, compared to ABC’s 4.2, NBC’s 3.2 and CBS’s 2.7. Meanwhile, ABC’s “War in Iraq” special at 10 p.m. started out strong with a 4.7 rating, but fell 30 percent in its second half-hour, when it slipped behind the second half of a “Law & Order” repeat on NBC.

'Fox & Friends' edges past CBS 'Early Show'
Fox News Channel's ratings are up so much with the war, they're starting to edge into broadcast territory. The network’s “Fox & Friends” morning show averaged more viewers than CBS’s “The Early Show” last week, the first time the show has ever bettered one of the broadcast network’s numbers. “Fox & Friends” averaged 2.905 million viewers to “The Early Show’s” 2.796 million. Even CNN’s morning show drew better ratings than CBS last week in the adults 25-54 demographic, by a margin of 6,000 viewers. “Fox & Friends” finished ahead of both with 1.6 million 25-54s. NBC’s “Today” led all programs with 3.6 million 25-54s, and ABC’s “Good Morning America” was second with 2.6 million.

Jacko's back in yet another sweeps special
Sweeps is approaching, so you know it must be about time for another Michael Jackson special. “Michael Jackson’s Private Home Movies,” a two-hour presentation, will air on Fox on April 24, the opening night of May sweeps. The network is billing the Thursday special as providing “unprecedented access to thousands of hours of never-before-seen footage revealing his life, family and friends.” It’s no surprise that Jackson would work with Fox on this one. The network aired his response to the special that began the whole Jackson frenzy during the February sweeps, ABC’s “Living With Michael Jackson.” That show, which angered Jackson and scared viewers by portraying him as a strange, deluded pedophile, drew 27 million viewers. The Fox response attracted 14 million while a “Dateline NBC” special on the singer’s plastic surgery drew similar numbers. No word on whether the films contain footage of those infamous Culkin brothers sleepovers.

Zeta-Jones prevails in suit over wedding pix
The great pain of Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones finally will ease a bit. A London court ruled in the pair’s favor Friday in their case against Hello! magazine, which printed unauthorized pictures of their 2000 wedding. The celebrity couple, ridiculed in the press for their over-the-top testimony about the unflattering pictures, will receive monetary damages to be determined later. A Hello! photographer crashed the wedding and took pictures from a concealed camera at his hip. The photos, including one of Zeta-Jones being fed cake by Douglas, were printed three days before the authorized spread appeared in OK! magazine. “I felt devastated. … I felt violated. I did not want my husband shoving a spoon down my throat to be photographed. … It is offensive,” Zeta-Jones said in her testimony. The couple had sued for 500,000 pounds. OK! also seeks compensation.

NBC readies movie about Pvt. Lynch rescue
“Saving Private Lynch” may make it to NBC before the holidays. The network has fast-tracked development of a movie about the rescue of Iraqi war POW Jessica Lynch. The 19-year-old Army private was rescued April 1 from a Nasiriyah hospital by a team of U.S. commandos. She had been captured during an ambush March 23, after her unit took a wrong turn into Iraqi-held territory. Lynch’s rescue made headlines last week, and she returned home to Palestine, W. Va., soon after. NBC has been meeting with writers and producers this week to hurry a movie into production for the 2003-’04 season. The network does not have official rights yet, though, and has said that if it does not get them, it will base the script on news reports and public information. CBS may also try to make a Lynch movie.

Correction: Hooper group publisher of Maxim
Yesterday's story "Great sucking sound among men's titles" erroneously identified Jamie Hooper as group publisher of Stuff magazine. Hooper is group publisher of Maxim. Media Life regrets the error.

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