UPN's 'Top Model' succumbs to 'CSI: NY'
 Wednesday night’s finale of UPN’s “America’s Next Top Model” did well, finishing second in its 8 p.m. time slot among viewers 18-49, but it was CBS’ “CSI: NY” that was the night’s highest-rated show in the demo, averaging a 5.4. It was ABC that ended the night on top, with a 4.1 average 18-49 rating and 11 share. CBS was second at 3.6/10, NBC third at 3.4/9, Fox fourth at 2.9/8, UPN fifth at 2.1/6, and the WB sixth at 1.2/3.
 At 8 p.m. ABC led with a repeat of “Lost” averaging a 4.3 18-49 rating. “America’s Next Top Model” on UPN was second that hour, averaging a 2.7 rating, with Fox third with a 2.6 average for its comedies “That ‘70s Show” (3.0) and “Quintuplets” (2.3).
 ABC led again at 9 p.m. with a 4.2 average rating for another hour of “Lost.” NBC moved to second with a 3.9 average for “The West Wing” and CBS third with a 3.6 average for “The King of Queens” (3.8) and “Center of the Universe” (3.4).
 CBS led at 10 p.m. with “CSI: NY’s” 5.4 average. ABC was second with a 3.8 average for “Wife Swap” and NBC third with a 3.6 average for a repeat of “Law & Order.”
 CBS was first for the night among households, averaging a 7.6 rating and 12 share. ABC was second at 7.2/11, NBC third at 7.0/11, Fox fourth at 4.1/7, UPN fifth at 3.3/5, and the WB sixth at 1.8/3.


FCC: Stern can talk dirty on satellite radio
  When Howard Stern joins Sirius Satellite Radio in 2006, he won’t have to worry about the rule of the Federal Communications Commission. Yesterday the FCC denied a request to apply indecency standards to pay radio services like Sirius or XM Satellite Radio. Mt. Wilson FM Broadcasters put in the request on Nov. 28, but a reply letter from the FCC released yesterday said that precedent dictates indecency rules don’t apply to such subscription-based services. Stern’s current radio show has been the subject of numerous FCC complaints, inciting his decision to move to Sirius when his contract with Viacom’s Infinity Broadcasting is up at the end of 2005. Last month Viacom agreed to pay $3.5 million to cover its radio stations’ indecency complaints, many of which involved Stern.

'Wife Swap' creators sue Fox over 'Spouses'
We knew ABC’s “Wife Swap” and Fox’s “Trading Spouses” were similar, but is it because Fox stole the idea? RDF Media, the British production company that originally created “Wife Swap” and sold the idea to ABC, has filed an $18 million lawsuit against Fox in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles claiming copyright infringement. The suit also lists “Trading Spouses” production company Rocket Science Laboratories as a defendant. Both “Wife Swap” and “Trading Spouses” have wives (and sometimes husbands) from different backgrounds switch places for a few days. RDF tells The New York Times that Fox’s version of the show, “is the most clear-cut case of copyright theft in the history of the reality genre.” This is not the first time Fox has been accused of lifting reality TV show ideas. The producers of NBC’s upcoming boxing reality show “The Contender” claimed the network took the idea for its “The Next Great Champ.” 

Smoke this: Showtime's weed-dealing mom
Talk about desperate housewives. Showtime has ordered 10 episodes of a new comedy called “Weeds,” which stars Mary Louise-Parker as housewife-turned-marijuana dealer. In the show Parker will play a suburban mom who turns to weed selling after her husband’s unexpected death. The show is produced by Lions Gate Television and will co-star Elizabeth Perkins and Kevin Nealon. In other programming news, the WB has committed to a comedy pilot starring actress Marley Shelton, about a 25-year-old woman driven by the luxurious life often portrayed in magazines, on TV and in movies. The sitcom is still untitled. And Fox has picked up a drama pilot called “Reunion,” produced by Warner Bros. TV and Class IV Productions. The show will follow a group of friends from their high school graduation to their 20-year reunion, with each episode covering a year of their lives.

NBC: Ebersol's injuries were worse
NBC Universal Sports chairman Dick Ebersol is recovering from his Nov. 28 plane crash, but it appears his injuries are more serious than originally reported. After the crash, in which Ebersol’s son Teddy was killed, reports said the elder Ebersol had suffered a fractured sternum and three fractured ribs. But yesterday NBC officials said Ebersol also has a fractured pelvis, a fractured coccyx and six broken vertebrae. Another of Ebersol’s sons, Charles, suffered back injuries and a burn on his arm after pulling his dad from the mess. The plane’s pilot and a flight attendant were also killed in the crash. No word on when Ebersol will be able to return to his post at NBC Universal Sports.