Broadcast TV Ratings for Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Even with “Lost” losing its time-period to “Criminal Minds” and “The Nine” continuing to falter, ABC manages to win the evening in households, viewers and A18-49.

ABC finished first for the evening with a 9.4/15 HH rating (14.61M viewers) and a 4.9/13 A18-49 rating.

• At 8:00 PM, “Dancing With The Stars: The Results Show” (19.17M viewers, 4.9/14 A18-49 rating) held on to most of its audience from the main show last night. Week to Week Numbers:
  • Households – 12.3/19 to 12.6/20
  • Viewers – 18.14M to 19.17M
  • A18-49 – 4.6/13 to 4.9/14
• At 9:00 PM, “Lost” (16.07M viewers, 6.5/16 A18-49 rating) appears to be showing its age. This marks the first time a new episode of “Lost” was defeated by a new episode of “Criminal Minds” on the same evening in total viewers. Among A18-49 though, “Lost” is in much better shape. Week to Week Numbers:
  • Households – 10.2/16 to 7.9/12
  • Viewers – 16.66M to 16.07M
  • A18-49 – 6.7/17 to 6.5/16
• At 10:00 PM, “The Nine” (8.59M viewers, 3.2/9 A18-49 rating) improved some from the week prior, but still struggled to hold onto a significant amount of Lost’s audience. Week to Week Numbers:
  • Households – 5.7/10 to 5.8/10
  • Viewers – 8.41M to 8.59M
  • A18-49 – 3.2/9 to 3.2/9

CBS followed in second place with an 9.2/14 HH rating (14.20M viewers), and a 4.2/11 A18-49 rating.

• At 8:00 PM, “Jericho” (10.81M viewers, 3.1/9 A18-49 rating) stayed virtually unchanged from the week before, providing another solid performance for the Eye. Week to Week Numbers:
  • Households – 7.0/11 to 6.9/11
  • Viewers – 10.90M to 10.81M
  • A18-49 – 3.2/9 to 3.1/9
• At 9:00 PM, “Criminal Minds” (16.10M viewers, 4.5/11 A18-49 rating) gave CBS the win in the time-period against former powerhouse “Lost” in households and viewers. Week to Week Numbers:
  • Households – 10.9/17 to 10.6/16
  • Viewers – 16.48M to 16.10M
  • A18-49 – 4.5/11 to 4.5/11
• At 10:00 PM, “CSI: NY” (15.68M viewers, 5.0/13 A18-49 rating), though not as dominant as it was the week before, easily won its time-period and built nicely among A18-49 from its lead-in. Week to Week Numbers:
  • Households – 11.5/19 to 10.3/17
  • Viewers – 17.71M to 15.68M
  • A18-49 – 5.9/16 to 3.1/8

FOX finished in third place with a 7.2/11 HH rating (10.43M viewers), and a 3.2/8 A18-49 rating.

• From 8:15 PM to 11:15 PM “MLB Baseball” (10.43M viewers, 3.2/8 A18-49 rating) again continued to show improvement, improving its total viewers from the night before. Week to Week Numbers:
  • Households – 5.5/9 to 7.2/11
  • Viewers – 8.27M to 10.43M
  • A18-49 – 2.6/7 to 3.2/8

NBC followed in fourth for the evening delivering a 4.6/7 HH rating (6.71M viewers) and a 2.6/7 A18-49 rating.

• At 8:00 PM and 8:30 PM, the performances of “30 Rock” (5.85M viewers, 2.3/7 A18-49 rating) and “Twenty Good Years” (5.10M viewers, 2.1/8 A18-49 rating) pretty much guaranteed an early exit for both shows. Week to Week Numbers:
  • “30 Rock”
    • Households – 5.5/9 to 3.9/6
    • Viewers – 8.26M to 5.85M
    • A18-49 – 2.9/9 to 2.3/7
  • “Twenty Good Years”
    • Households – 4.7/7 to 3.5/5
    • Viewers – 6.97M to 5.10M
    • A18-49 – 2.5/7 to 2.1/8
• At 9:00 PM, “The Biggest Loser” (7.39M viewers, 3.1/8 A18-49 rating) built on its lead-in in all categories, though its not like it was a hard feat, considering just how poorly ‘Rock’ and ‘Twenty’ faired. But at least it isn’t being hurt by its weak lead-in. Week to Week Numbers:
  • Households – 5.0/8 to 4.9/8
  • Viewers – 7.37M to 7.39M
  • A18-49 – 3.0/8 to 3.1/8
• At 10:00 PM, “Dateline NBC” (7.26M viewers, 2.6/7 A18-49 rating) ended the evening for NBC. Week to Week Numbers:
  • Households – 5.8/10 to 5.2/9
  • Viewers – 8.24M to 7.26M
  • A18-49 – 2.9/8 to 2.6/7

The CW finished in fifth for the evening delivering a 2.7/4 HH rating (4.05M viewers) and a 1.9/5 A18-49 rating.

• At 8:00 PM, “America’s Next Top Model” (5.14M viewers, 2.5/7 A18-49 rating) continues to be one of the most solid of The CW’s shows, especially in A18-49. Week to Week Numbers:
  • Households – 3.7/6 to 3.4/6
  • Viewers – 5.49M to 5.14M
  • A18-49 – 2.7/8 to 2.5/7
• At 9:00 PM, “One Tree Hill” (2.95M viewers, 1.3/3 A18-49 rating), continues to struggle holding onto ‘Model’s’ audience. It even lost viewers from the week prior. About the only good news is that the series isn’t too far off from the comparable frame last season (3.12M viewers, 1.4/4). Week to Week Numbers:
  • Households – 2.2/3 to 2.1/3
  • Viewers – 3.28M to 2.95M
  • A18-49 – 1.5/4 to 1.4/4

Source: Fast National Numbers from Nielsen Media Research

Note: Fast Nationals are used when comparing week-to-week numbers, while Final Nationals are used when comparing year-to-year numbers unless specified.

The ratings for all the programs that aired last night are viewable below in chart form (click to enlarge):