National Ratings in Prime-Time: Week of April 21, 2008 (Mediaweek.com)

It was a week of mixed leadership, with declining CBS first in households and total viewers, and also eroding Fox No. 1 in the three key demos -- adults 18-49, adults 25-54 and adults 18-34. Comparably (and despite a year-to-year loss of 24 percent in the demo), this was Fox's 16th consecutive weekly win among adults 18-49. Both CBS and Fox, in fact, were down by double-digit across-the-board percentages.

ABC perked up to second in four of the five surveyed categories (excluding a third-place finish in total viewers) as a result of all original episodes of Grey's Anatomy, Lost and Desperate Housewives. But the network was down by as much as 19 percent among adults 18-34 versus one year earlier, and Grey's Anatomy dipped to 16.37 million viewers and a 6.5 rating/16 share among adults 18-49 (compared to 20.08 million and a 8.4/21 in the demo on April 26, 2007). CBS' competing CSI was also down by a hefty 3 million viewers (20.20 to 17.02 million) and 20 percent in the demo (5.9/15 to 4.7/12). Considering the long wait for original episodes, you might have thought viewers would have been more interested.

Also on CBS was the season-finale of Big Brother 9 at a marginal 6.39 million viewers (#54 overall) and a 2.3/ 6 among adults 18-49 (tied for No. 49) in the Sunday 8 p.m. hour. Trust me when I predict we will never see another winter edition of Big Brother again.

Elsewhere, fourth-place NBC was close to year-ago levels, while lowly the CW declining by margins of 14 to 19 percent.

Here are the final national ratings for the week of April 21, 2008 (with percent change versus the comparable year-ago week in parentheses), followed by the top 20 ranked programs of the week. Keep in mind that the start of the May sweep was on Thursday this week.

-Households:
CBS: 6.0 rating/10 share (-14), ABC: 5.9/10 (- 6), Fox: 5.6/ 9 (-19), NBC: 4.6/ 8 (+ 5), CW: 1.7/ 3 (-19)

-Total Viewers:
CBS: 9.24 million (-15), Fox: 9.16 (-20), ABC: 9.08 (- 5), NBC: 6.95 (+ 4), CW: 2.62 (-16)

-Adults 18-49:
Fox: 3.4 rating/9 share (-24), ABC: 2.9/ 8 (-12), CBS: 2.5/ 7 (-14), NBC: 2.1/ 6 (no change), CW: 1.1/ 3 (-15)

-Adults 25-54:
Fox: 3.7/10 (-23), ABC: 3.5/ 9 (- 5), CBS: 3.3/ 8 (-13), NBC: 2.5/ 7 (no change), CW: 1.0/ 3 (-17)

-Adults 18-34:
Fox: 3.0/ 9 (-25), ABC: 2.2/ 7 (-19), CBS: 1.7/ 5 (-11), NBC: 1.5/ 5 (-12), CW: 1.2/ 4 (-14)

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Top 20 Rankings

-Total Viewers:
American Idol ÐTuesday (Fox): 24.74 million, American Idol ÐWednesday (Fox): 23.20, Dancing With the Stars (ABC): 18.04, Dancing With the Stars Results (ABC): 17.97, CSI (CBS): 17.02, Grey's Anatomy (ABC): 16.37, Desperate Housewives (ABC): 16.35, CSI: Miami (CBS): 14.38, NCIS (CBS): 14.24, Without a Trace (CBS): 13.47, Two and a Half Men (CBS): 13.36, Survivor: Micronesia (CBS): 12.90, Law & Order (NBC): 12.75, Lost (ABC): 12.08, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC): 12.07, Law & Order: SVU (NBC): 11.64, Cold Case (CBS): 11.61, Brothers & Sisters (ABC): 11.19, Hell's Kitchen (Fox): 10.98, Rules of Engagement (CBS): 10.57

-Adults 18-49:
American Idol ÐTuesday (Fox): 9.0 rating/25 share, American Idol ÐWednesday (Fox): 8.6/21, Grey's Anatomy (ABC): 6.5/16, Desperate Housewives (ABC): 5.9/14, Lost (ABC): 5.3/14, Two and a Half Men (CBS): 5.0/12, Hell's Kitchen (Fox): 4.9/12, CSI (CBS): 4.7/12, Survivor: Micronesia (CBS): 4.3/13, Dancing With the Stars (ABC) and CSI: Miami (CBS): 4.3/11 each, Family Guy (Fox): 4.3/10, Dancing With the Stars Results (ABC): 4.2/10, Rules of Engagement (CBS): 4.1/10, Law & Order: SVU (NBC): 4.0/11, The Office (NBC): 4.0/10, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC): 3.9/11, Brothers & Sisters (ABC): 3.8/10, Law & Order (NBC) and The Simpsons (Fox): 3.7/10 each, How I Met Your Mother (CBS): 3.7/ 9

Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat)

-- Marc Berman

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