CBS & NBC finish in a tie for No. 1 Monday
    CBS’s “CSI: Miami” claimed yet another Monday night victory among viewers 18-49 last night, averaging a 6.8 rating in the demo in its 10 p.m. timeslot. That pushed CBS into a first-place tie with NBC for the night, each averaging a 5.1 18-49 rating and a 13 share. Fox was third at 4.9/10, ABC fourth at 3.4/9, the WB fifth at 1.7/4 and UPN sixth at 1.4/3.
   NBC started the night in the lead with “Fear Factor” averaging a 4.6 rating among 18-49s during the 8 p.m. hour. Fox was second that hour with a 3.4 average for “Trading Spouses,” with ABC third with a 3.1 average for “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition: Family Reunion.”
   At 9 p.m. CBS took the lead with a 5.6 average for the comedies “Everybody Loves Raymond” (5.6) and “Two and a Half Men” (5.7). Fox finished second again, this time with a 4.9 average for “24,” and NBC third with a 4.7 average for “Las Vegas.”
   The 10 p.m. hour was competitive, with “CSI: Miami” on CBS leading the way with its 6.8 average, ahead of second-place NBC’s 6.0 average for “Medium.” ABC finished third that hour with a 3.8 average for “Supernanny.”
   CBS led the night among households with a 9.9 average rating and a 15 share. NBC was second at 7.8/12, ABC third at 6.0/9, Fox fourth at 5.7/9, the WB fifth at 3.2/5 and UPN sixth at 2.4/4.

Booby prize: Ratings tank for CBS's Grammys
     Without a B-cup of controversy hanging over them, the Grammy Awards weren’t nearly the draw they were last year.
   The music awards show, which aired Sunday night on CBS, was way down from last year and even the year before, when the show didn’t have the whole Super Bowl Nipplegate controversy to lure viewers.
   Sunday night’s show averaged 19.25 million total viewers according to Nielsen overnights, down 27 percent versus last year’s 26.4 million. 
   Among adults 18-49 the show fell significantly, too, averaging an 8.2 rating. That dipped 30 percent from last year’s 11.7, which was the show’s best rating since 2001.
   The show did manage to boost CBS to a nightly win among 18-49s but barely. CBS averaged a 6.8 to ABC’s 6.4 for new episodes of its Sunday night hits “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” and “Desperate Housewives.”
   In fact, the increased competition from ABC may have had as much to do with the Grammys’ dip as the absence of controversy.
   Airing opposite “Makeover” at 8 p.m., the Grammys averaged a program low of 7.9 among 18-49s, with “Makeover” copping a 6.8.
   At 9 p.m. “Housewives” moved ahead of the awards show, averaging a 9.6 to the latter’s 8.2. The Grammys rose to their highest viewership against weaker competition at 10 p.m., averaging an 8.5 to “Boston Legal’s” 5.1 on ABC and “Crossing Jordan’s” 3.8 on NBC.
   Elsewhere Sunday night, NBC finished third among 18-49s at 2.8/7, Fox fourth at 2.7/6 and the WB fifth at 0.8/2.
   ABC led at 7 p.m. with the first hour of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” averaging a 4.2 18-49 rating. CBS was second with a 2.6 average for “60 Minutes” and Fox third with a 2.4 average for “King of the Hill” (2.2) and “Malcolm in the Middle” (2.7).
   At 8 p.m. CBS led with a 7.9 average for the first hour the Grammys. ABC was second with a 6.8 average for the second hour of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” followed by a 3.2 average for Fox for “The Simpsons” (3.8) and “Arrested Development” (2.7).
   ABC led at 9 p.m. with its 9.6 average for “Housewives.” CBS was second with an 8.2 average for the second hour of the Grammys and NBC third with a disappointing 3.8 average for the return of “Law & Order’s” Chris Noth on “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.”
   Among households, CBS finished the night on top with an 11.0 average rating and a 17 share. ABC was second at 9.7/15, NBC third at 6.9/11, Fox fourth at 3.5/5 and the WB fifth at 1.3/2.

Oops! Ignore that report about TLC cash back 
Even when a network enters a ratings free fall such as TLC began last year, it’s rare to offer advertisers their money back. And apparently TLC is not. After a story appeared on Television Week’s web site yesterday alleging that the network was paying back several million dollars to advertisers after failing to meet upfront rating guarantees, TLC owner Discovery said it wasn’t so. Discovery issued a statement last night saying that the story “made numerous erroneous references and misrepresented the facts. At no time does Discovery Networks give cash back for ratings under delivery to its advertising clients. Consistent with industry practice, Discovery works with its clients to make good on any under delivery of audience.” TLC’s total audience is down nearly a third compared with last year. Ratings for “Spaces” have dropped by half since its 2003 heyday, and last week TLC named a new general manager. The article quoted Discovery president of advertising sales Joe Abruzzese as saying, “If a client wants to take an option, we give them the money back, but we leave the units at no charge,” but did not quote any buyers aware of the cash-backs. TV Week has since corrected the story.

Swimsuit issue's vital stats: 107 ad pages for $35M
NBC's Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model reality show may have landed with a belly flop, but don't expect the same from the magazine's annual edition, which hits stores today. Sales figures for the annual oglefest are about equal to last year.  There were six more ad pages last year, 113, compared with 107 this year. Ad revenues dipped slightly, going from $36.5 million in 2004 to $35 million this year. The magazine has stayed above 100 pages of ads since 2002. The Swimsuit Edition pulls in an average of $50 million a year in revenue. Sales are expected to be high again this year, especially due to all the publicity that has circulated around the bikini models. They made an appearance at SI’s Super Bowl party and on several print and TV ads.

Judge's Boston Herald libel case goes to the jury
Did the Boston Herald try to smear New Bedford Superior Court Judge Ernest B. Murphy, or was the newspaper just doing its job? That's a question a jury is getting ready to decide. The judge sued The Boston Herald for libel, citing 60 statements the paper published over the past three years. The case went to a jury Monday in Boston after Murphy's lawyers compared the Herald's stories to a supermarket tabloid. Murphy claims the Herald and two of its reporters, Jules Crittenden and Dave Wedge, were part of a campaign that has damaged his health and reputation. The Herald published claims that during a private meeting about a rape case, Murphy told lawyers to tell the 14-year-old alleged victim to get over it. He also said of a 79-year-old robbery victim, "I don't care if she's 109." David Crowley, a former Bristol County assistant district attorney who was a source for the judge's comment about the rape victim, testified that the Herald had accurately reported the essence of the statement. Herald lawyer M. Robert Dushman said the paper did not knowingly publish anything untrue, though he did admit it committed a few "minor errors." 

Eisner still editing as 'DisneyWar' went to print
James Stewart’s “DisneyWar” was shipped to stores early last week after the Orlando Sentinel and the Los Angeles Times revealed many of its details from an advance copy. Apparently that is not the only last-minute wrangling that went on. Disney CEO Michael Eisner, who was easily reelected at the company’s annual shareholders meeting on Friday, reportedly spent Jan. 26, 27 and 28 on the phone with Stewart, trying to get him to change certain content. Among Eisner’s objections was a passage that details a heated discussion between him and former ABC bosses Susan Lyne and Lloyd Braun about how to handle “8 Simple Rules” after the untimely death of lead actor John Ritter. Eisner wanted the TV wife to become pregnant, while the other two thought that would be in bad taste. Stewart acquiesced on some of the changes, but for some others told Eisner that it was too late to switch, to which Eisner allegedly replied, according to New York magazine, “I own a publishing company. You can always delay.” At last week’s Disney meeting, Eisner and 11 board members were reelected with 92 percent of the votes. Last year Eisner’s reelection was voted against by 45 percent.

'Practice's' Bobby morphs from lawyer to surgeon
It's pilot time once more in TV land, and this year's crop of pilots contains lots of familiar TV faces. The CBS pilot "3 Lbs." added another name to its lineup. Dylan McDermott of ABC's "The Practice" will star as a top neurosurgeon in the medical drama about brain surgeons in Los Angeles. Freddie Prinze Jr., a "Boston Legal" guest-star, will star in an untitled ABC comedy from Warner Bros. TV about a guy who was raised in a house full of women. And former "Gilmore Girls" star Milo Ventimiglia has joined an untitled pilot at the WB about New York college students. In other programming news, Showtime will adapt the BBC comedy “Manchild” for the U.S. audience. The show is about four men pushing 50 who go through their mid-life crises with sex primarily on their minds. TBS has ordered 10 episodes of a reality series starring Pauly Shore. The show, tentatively called "Minding the Store," is about the industry punchline trying to revive LA's The Comedy Store. On April 15 at 10p.m. TLC will premiere a weekly series called “Sheer Dallas,” about the lives of the rich and famous in Dallas and Southern high society.