Last Thursday of sweeps slower
      What have beent he two hottest nights this February sweeps? Without a doubt, Mondays and Thursdays. But while Monday heated up to big proportions this week, thursday took a breather as viewers tried to catch their collective breath from watching so much tv. At 8pm, "Survivor" (22.1mil) was the overall winner, although "Friends" (23.7mil) and "Will & Grace" (19mil) combined for a win in adults. ABC was a distant third with the special "After The Final Rose" (7.1mil), while the UPN was fourth with "Smackdown!" (5.2mil overall). Fox stuck with repeats of "Fiance" to the tune of 4.6mil, while "Steve Harvey" (3.5mil) and "Andersons" (3.2mil) were dead last.
      The rankings didn't change much at 9pm as "CSI" (28mil) backed off from recent highs, while "The Apprentice" (20mil) didn't. ABC was again third with "Makeover" (8.1mil), while Fox got some mileage out of the finale of "Fiance" (6.8mil). The WB was even further behind with a repeat of "The Surreal House" (2mil). At 10pm. "ER" (21.9mil) continued to be near season highs, while "Without A Trace" (16.8mil) was apparently hurt by "Super Millionaire" which scored 11.5mil viewers in the hour. 
      On the night, the six networks were well up over last season's results mostly because sweeps had already ended this time last year. Why are they running a week late this year? (February 27)

Everybody a Wednesday winner
      The penultimate Wednesday night of sweeps may have went to Fox, but almost everybody had something to be happy about. But it was Fox, of course,t aht had the most to crow about. At 8pm, "That 70s Show" (11.7mil) and "Idol" (22.1mil) combined to overwealmingly win their slot, but "60 Minutes II" (11.5mil) was also strong and seems to have found a solid, sizeable audience. After a slow start to the season, the show is consistantly in the 11-12 mil viewer range and currently ranks 47th on the seaosn, although it's 101st in adults. Over on ABC, "My Wife & Kids" (10.3mil) and "It's All Relative" (8.1mil) are finally starting to make up lost grond to Fox, which NBC has given up the hour with repeats of "The Apprentice" (7.7mil). Over on the WB, "Smallville" came in at a not so hot 4.8mil, while "Enterprise" (3.3mil) nearly hit a series low for a new episode. Currently, the show is only averaging 3.3mil viewers on the season and ranks 8th on the season among UPN shows, certainly nothing to crow about for such a high budget series. On its network, it ranks higher than only "One On One" (3.1mil), "Rock Me Baby" (2.7mil), "Jake 2.0" (2.1mil), "The Mullets" (2.1mil) and the Friday movie (2.2mil), putting its future in potential jeopardy.
       At 9pm, it was CBS which had the lucky hand with "King Of Queens" (13.4mil) and a repeat "Raymond" (11.7mil) ringing up winning numbers, overcoming the first hour of "The Bechelorette" finale (13.5mil overall). while that show hit its highest numbers of the season, it was down a whopping 33% from the finale of the same show a year ago. "The West Wing" (11.4mil) continues to flirt with series lows on NBC, while "The OC" (10.5mil) was down from recent performances. On the WB, "Angel" (4.1mil) beat out a repeat of "Model" (3.3mil)
     At 10p, as always, it was "Law & Order" (17.2mil) with ABC second and "48 Hours" (7.9mil) third. "L&O" is showing major signs of erosion over last season in the hour, leaving the door open for "Kingdom Hospital" on ABC which premieres next week. If any series is going to beat "Order," it'll be this one. (February 26)

ABC wants more sitcoms
     In a huge vote of confidence, ABC is ordering more episodes of 5 of its sitcoms. "My Wife & Kids" will end the season with 30 episodes in total, the highest on any broadcast network and reminicent of "Drew Carey," which consistantly produced 28 episodes a season. Hope & Faith," meanwhile, will be extended to 26 episodes, along with "According To Jim." "Less Than Perfect" and "8 Simple Rules" have both been extended to 24 episodes apiece. "George Lopez" had previously been given a high order, bringing it's seasont total to 26. What does this mean? All of these series are a virtual lock for next season. The most surprizing one has to be "Less Than Perfect," which is consistantly the best thing about ABC, though the ratings are not great, but are rising. but this is bad news for "Life With Bonnie," ABC's only non-freshman sitcom not given a boost. Typically, sitcoms run 22 episodes a season (February 26)

"Millionaire" keeps chugging along
     What's the most impressive story of this February sweeps? Fox has been strong with "Fiance" and "Idol," The PUN is winning with "Model" and CBS's all around strength is certainly noteworthy. But my vote goes to "Millionaire," whose return has given ABC something to be thankfull for. This was not exception on Tuesday as "Millionaire" posted a strong 13.7mil viewers at 10pm, second in its timeslot, but beating everything ABC has aired in the slot this season (save one of the Bowl games). "SVU" (15.3mil) was first, of course, but ABC was a strong second, while CBS wilted away with "Judging Amy" (11.5mil).
      It was all-around a reality story on Tuesday, starting out with "Idol" (24.6mil) at 8pm. Nothing even came close to it.m "NCIS" (12.3mil) was second, while third went to ABC with "8 Simple Rules" (8.2mil) and "I'm With Her" (5.7mil) NBC was fourth, led by "Whoppi" (7.5mil). "Gilmore Girls" (5.5mil) continues to pick up steam, while the UPN's comedies are still a solid alternative in sixth.
      At 9pm, while "24" (10.7mil) won, it was "Model" that stole the show with a series high 7.5mil viewers in fifth place. Also noteworthy was "One Tree Hill," which also set a record with 4.5mil viewers. Nothing else in the hour is really worth a mention. (February 25)

Cancellation/Renewal updates
     There's been some movement in this category in the past few days, so I'll go over it here. ABC has canned "The Mole" is a rather surprizing decision. The show is down, but not as much as lead-in "The Bachelorette" and ties or wins over "Law & Order" in key younger demos in the hour. It's recently concluded edition ranks 68th on the season, but a much stronger 38th in adults. Not surprizingly, the producers of the show are now shopping it around. I would expect somebody to pick it up.
ABC also announced that it was give the Friday 10pm slot to "The DA" for four week at the end of March while "20/20" takes a rest. So far that show sits in 50th on the season, much improved over last season thanks to better lead-ins.
      Over on NBC, "The Apprentice 2" is a go for the fall, while "The Contender," a reality series with Sly Stalone was also bought for $2 million an episode, which is a record for a reality series. No airdate has yet been set, but I would expect it in the fall. NBC is going to need everything it can get. (February 25)

NBC, CBS roar in week 3
     The start of week 3 of February sweeps saw NBC and CBS roaring ahead in the ratings, with NBC setting a season high on the night. But it only won one timeslot, at 10pm, as "ER" (23mil) tied a season high, although "Without A Trace: (20.1mil) was just 100,000 viewers under last week's series high. At 8pm, "Survivor" (23mil) won over NBC's strong combo of "Friends" (24.3mil) and "Will & Grace" (19mil), while "CSI" (30.7mil) was just 300,000 viewers under last week's series high, beating out "The Apprentice" (20mil), which was near a series high.
      So what was left? Almost nothing. ABC was third in every timeslot with "The Bachelorette: The Men Tell All" (5.8mil), "Extreme Makeover" (8.7mil) and "PrimeTime" (7.7mil). The UPN was fourth on the night with 5.2mil viewers. while Fox was left in fifth with the uber-disappointing premiere of "Planet Of The Apes" (4.1mil). How much did Fox pay for that one? Over on the WB, "Steve Harvey" (3.8mil) and "Andersons" (3.3mil) started strong, but a repeat of "The Surreal Life" (2.6mil) fell off. (February 20)

"Idol" takes another Tuesday
     As expected, "Idol" took yet another Tuesday night as the rest of competition crumbled beneath its weight. "Idol" took 24.4mil viewers in the hour, down from last week but still up over last season, not leaving much for the rest. "NCIS" scored a solid 13.4mil viewers in the hour, while "Fear Factor" ran unitl 9:30 and drew 10.2mil viewers overall. ABC's combo of "8 Simple Rules" (9.1mil) and "I'm With Her" (6.4mil) is struggling under the weight of Fox, but what else can ABC do?. Over on the WB, "Gilmore Girls" used the "Idol" downtime to rake in 5.4mil viewers, near a season high. A one hour edition of "All Of Us" reached 4mil viewers.
     but it was a whole new ball game at 9pm when "Idol" retired. "The Guardian" (11.3mil) won the slot this time around, leaving "24" (10.4mil) in second. That very narrowly edged out ABC's "Jim" (11.3mil) and "Perfect" (9.5mil), while NBC was not far behind with "Fear Factor" and "Scrubs" (8.5mil), which is not holding up well on Tuesdays. Shame, because it is the best comedy on tv. But the viewers have spoken and the show has had a very high profile timeslot. "Model" was down from last week, but at 6.3mil viewers, it still smashed "One Tree Hill" (4.2mil) on the WB, although that show is finding a solid audience in the hour. At 10pm, "SVU" (14.2mil) was the top rated show, while "Judging Amy" (12.4mil) was second. "NYPD Blue" (9.5mil), alas, just couldn't compete. (February 18)

Gibson, Fear, CBS impress Monday
     During the second Monday of sweeps, it was a weird combination, Mel Gibson, Fear Factor and CBS that led the Monday crowd. "Fear Factor," which aired the finale of a couples edition, drew a series high 18.6mil viewers on Monday and led the night with a 8.4/21 rating in adults. But CBS was no slouch. "Raymond" (19.8mil) hit a season high 6.6/15 in adults, while "CSI Miami" capped off the night to 19.5mil viewers. It was down week-to-week though, probably because of the tough competition. A Mel Gibson interview on ABC drew an impressive 17mil viewers, but ranked third in adults, behind "Average Joe" (12.1mil, 6.4/14). Also on the night, "Fiance" drew a big 16.1mil viewers and "Two & Half Men" continued its hot streak at 17.5mil viewers.
     What was not hot on the night? Well, ABC's movie "Jurassic Park III" drew only 7.3mil viewers, while the Fox special "The Littlest Groom" was thrid at 8pm with 7.5mil. The WB wasn't doing backflips with "7th Heaven" (5.9mil) nor "Everwood" (5.2mil), while "Girlfriends" peaked at 4.2mil viewers on the UPN.
      Elsewhere, CBS was second at 8pm with "Still Standing" (12.2mil) and "Yes, Dear" (11.6mil), while "Las Vegas" continues to do well at 13mil. (February 17)

NBC finally takes Friday
    NBC was so dominant on Fridays last season that it was a shock when the night enitrely fell apart for the network this season. But last Friday it finally won (at least in adults), thanks to taking out the weak 9pm show and expanding "Dateline" (11.3mil). "Third Watch" closed off the night for the net with an average 9.7mil viewers, bhut a first place finish in adults. The show was no doubt hurt by CBS's competeing repeat of "CSI Miami" (11.3mil), which took the slot for the night for only the third time this season. Earlier in the evening, CBS ran second from 8-10pm with below average results for "Joan" (10.8mil) and 'JAG" (11.1mil). Net was second in adults; it continues to creep up the charts every week in that demo, much of that reflecting "Joan"s younger-skewing, and growing, audience.
     Elsewhere on the night, there were a few lessons to be learned. When you have a pathetic show, don't try to stick with it for an entire season to see if it "clicks." Case in point- "Married To The Kelley's," which sunk to 6.1mil viewers at 8:30pm. It's hurting the night- lead-out "Hope & Faith" hit a series low 7.8mil viewers, while lead-in "George Lopez" wasn't spectacular at 7.6mil viewers. "Bonnie" (7.4mil) and "20/20" (9mil) close out the night for ABC to similar weak numbers. the WB was learning the same type of lesson as ABC as "Reba" (4.6mil) is clearly the night's standout. while lead-out "What I Like About You" (3mil) seems to do worse every week. Nothing recovered after that. The UPN used the WB's weakness to rank fifth on the night with the movie "Shaft."
     and then there was Fox. Pity poor Fox. It only has American Idol, and Friday clearly demonstrated that. "Celebritty Spelling Bee" drew a pathetic 4.2mil viewers, while the 9pm show "When Animals Attack" sunk to an ever worse 3.6mil. Gee Fox, you're doing great Mondays through Wednesday, but Thursdays and Fridays are destroying your entire week. Stupid, stupid Fox. (February 14)

"Angel" goes to heaven
     tv.zap2it is reporting that "Angel"s fifth season will also be its last. Word comes from the cast as they were told by Josh Whedon that the series will be ending in May. They're not upset, saying the WB's advance notice gives them a chance to send the series out in style. Also, there's the posibility of movies next season to play on the shows built in fan base. So far this season, the show ranks 117th with 4.1mil viewers. It does better in adults, at 109th. (February 14)

"Trace" sets record, creeps up on "ER"
    "Without A Trace" has become the little show that could, never getting any press, but impressing viewers who keep coming back. And on Thursday there were a few more of them as the show set a series record 20mil viewers, beating it's old record set back in December. But is it getting close to "ER" ? Not in adults (6.3 rating vs. 10.3), but it was only 9% behind "ER" (22.1mil) in viewers. Given the fact that "ER" didn't start picking up steam again until "The Apprentice" (18.5mil) moved in, "WAT" could now be beating "ER" in an alternate universe.
     Also on Thursday, "CSI" set a near record and a season high with 30.7mil viewers, while "Friends" ws the number two show on the night (but first in adults) as 25.4mil viewers watched Phoebe get married. "Survivor" was second at 8pm with a strong 21.7mil. and now that all of CBS's and NBC's shows are covered, now it's down the list.
     ABC was a very distant third with two episodes of "Extreme Makeover" (6, 8mil), while "PrimeTime Thursday" (7.9mil) was no prize at 10pm. The UPN was fourth with Smackdown! (5.3mil), while Fox languished with "Tru Calling" (4mil) and a repeat of makeover. Nothing on the WB was worth nothing.
     Compared to last season, it was a good night for network tv in general. Varied choices led to more viewers watching. ABC was down the most, 10%, while CBS dipped 4%, much thanks to filling up this Thursday last season with 1 1/2 editions of "Survivor" and "CSI." Fox was up 1%, the UPN 6%, NBC 8%, while the WB  was up a strong 38%. Considering the problems the WB has had on Thursdays, this season's performance, although not spectacular, is alot better than it has been. In total, the six nets drew 65.1mil viewers, up 1% from last season.

"Idol" comes down, but still wins
    "American Idol"s red hot ratings are starting to come down (and believe me, the missing viewers didn't miss anything they couldn't read on tv.zap2it's "Idol" update- what a waste of time!), but the show still drew 24mil viewers last night, and is still up drastically over last season, last night by 28%. The show also drew a 10.1 rating in adults, down from last week, but up 12% from last season. So, is Fox happy? Yes, most definitely. The rest of the night was also hot for Fox as "That 70s Show" opened up to 12mil, flat from last season, but down 3% in adults, while "The OC" chipped in at 9pm with 12mil viewers, holding onto 50% of "Idol"s audience and up 12% versus "Bernie Mack/Cedric" last season. Fox was first overall on the night, but it was not first in every timeslot. At 8pm, it did rank first over CBS's solid "60 Minutes II" (10.4mil), ABC's "My Wife & Kids" (10.2mil) and "It's All Relative" (7.4mil), as well as the WB's "Smallville" (5.1mil) and "Enterprise" (3.8mil). In the hour, it doesn't look like the UPN nor CBS, both owned by Viacom are being effected by "Idol," but ABC is hurting, and the WB is really hurting.
     Fox didn't win at 9pm as CBS took that honour. "King of Queens" (12.1mil, 12.6mil) continued being hot for the eye, while "The Bachelorette" (11.9mil) just about tied Fox for second. "The West Wing" (11.3mil) was skimming a series low, while "Angel" (3.8mil) was the next closest competitior. In adults, it was ABC, followed by Fox, CBS and NBC. People may think of CBS as the "old" network, but 45% of "King of Queens" audience is falling within the 18-49 bracket, compared with 39% for "The West Wing." "The Bachelorette" stands at 58%, with "The OC" 55%. "Angel" stands at an even 50%. But keep in mind: both the WB and Fox's series viewers not fitting into this category probably skew lower, while "The Bachelorette"s probably higher. 
     At 10pm, "Law & Order" (17.2mil) is not as unstoppable as it once was (watch the ratings closely when "Kingdom Hospital" premieres on ABC March 3rd in the timeslot), but neither "48 Hours" (10.4mil) not "Celebrity Mole" (8.4mil) is coming close to it. In the aforementioned 18-49 category, 42% of "Law & Order"s viewers are in the demo, compared with 43% for "48 Hours" and a surprizing 67% for "Mole." Too bad other viewers aren't watching it.... (February 12)

"24" falls flat
    Last season, all "24" needed was "American Idol" to send it into better ratings heaven, but this year, the show is struggling majorly. Case in point: the show drew only 10mil viewers on Tuesday, losing 61% behind "Idol"s 26.1mil. In adults, it fared a bit better, drawing a 4.8/11 ratings, holding 43% of "Idol"s audience. How much worse is it doing this season? While "Idol" was up a big 31% over last season's results, "24" was down 21%. Last seasno it held 62% of it's lead-in, this season only 38%. Will Fox let this continue? Probably, but why? Why not move "24" to Sundays (which is struggling this season) and open the hour up to more sitcoms? Just a thought....
     CBS was second on the tough night, peaking with "NCIS" (12.5mil). Also at 8pm, "Friends" got squashed with just 8.5mil viewers, but that was still better than ABC with "8 Simple Rules" (8.2mil) and "I'm With Her" (5.7mil). The WB was fourth (4.7mil), while the UPN got blown away in sixth. At 9pm, it was a different story as "Will & Grace" (10.7mil) and "Scrubs" (11.1mil) combined for a win over "The Guardian" (10.7mil), Fox and ABC's suddenly struggling duo of "Jim" (10.1mil) and "Perfect" (8.2mil). "Next Top Model" was up over last week with 7.1mil viewers, while "One Tree Hill" is slowly improving with 4.2mil viewers. At 10pm, "SVU" (13mil) opened a sizeable lead over "Judging Amy" (11.7mil), but was clearly hurt by the return of "NYPD Blue" (11.1mil).
     So what was Tuesday like compared to last season? Well, the hardest hit network was the WB, which was down a full 31% over last season. CBS was down 12% while ABC was also down, by 6%. On the plus side, Fox was up 12%, NBC 14% and the UPN 62%, a huge jump. Overall, the nets averaged 59.6mil viewers, up a tiny 1.4% over last season. But still, there are holes. (February 11)

Talkers, soaps up in daytime
    With the boring winter weather going on outside, inside talkers and soapers are heating up the screens in daytime. The big winner? "Oprah," who recorded an 8.8 rating, her highest in nearly a decade. That was, of course, boosted by her big birthday bash, but still, after 20 seasons on the air, numbers like this are impressive. Over on ABC, "The View" hit a 2.1 household rating, its highest ever, while recording a near record 1.9 rating in women 18-49. It's also up dramatically in women 18-34, the ones the nets are truly trying to reach. Even so, the show was beatn by the first time by Ellen, who jumped to a record 2.3 rating over on NBC, jumping 15% from her previous high (set a week earlier) and a huge 77% since its premiere. Yes, "Oprah" is getting all the press, but it's "Ellen" who's the next big thing in daytime. Setting series highs in 3 of the last four weeks is a clear indication that things will only get better.
      Generally, higher talker ratings usually mean lower soap ratings. But not so this time around. "Days" was the biggest winner, up to a 3.9 rating and jumping 15% from the previous week. Of course, it took revealing who killed half the cast to do it, but still... On the other side, "Passions" was up to a 2.3 rating, only 0.3 points behing 8th place "Guilding Light." Should "Passions" use its stronger "Days" lead-in to take 8th place, it would represent the first time the soap has been above 9th. and it will represent the death knell for GL. Of course, "Passions" is number 7 in women 18-49, 2 in women 18-34 and number one in women 18-24 and female teens. This is why the 9th rated soap isn't on the chopping block. Over all, "Y&R", "AMC" and "GL" were all even over last season, with "Passions" and "Days" both up 15%. The rest of the soap, excluding "OLTL" (+3%) were down slightly. CBS averaged a 3.8 rating for the week (-3%), ABC a 3.3 (-2%) and NBC a 3.1 (+15%) (February 11)

"Idol" blows away "Bachelorette"
     Network TV's four premiere reality series (Fear Factor, Survivor, American Idol & The Bachelor/ette) rarely face off against each other, but when they do, it's interesting to see the results. That said, it was no contest on Wednesday as "American Idol" (28.5mil) didn't come close to slowing down on Wednesday night fron 8:30pm to 9:30pm, ranking an overwealming number on in its slot in viewers and all key demos. As for "The Bachelorette," a "special" edition starting at 8:30pm notched a weak 10.1mil viewers and a 4.1/10 in adults, second in the span. An interesting match-up would be Survivor against Idol, especially with the All Stars edition. But alas, that'll never happen. Note: I would have included "The Apprentice:" as one of the premiere reality series, but as we know from "Joe Millionaire" and "Temptation Island," one good set of episodes does not a viable hit make. If the second edition holds up, well, then we'll see.
     What else was left on Wednesday? Well, alot, actually. "That 70s Show" used its "Idol" lead-out to attract 13.2mil viewer, a season high, soundly defeating "My Wife & Kids" (10.0mil) over on ABC. Overall second in the 8pm hour was "60 Minutes II" (11.5mil), while a repeat of the aforementioned "Apprentice" limped along with 7mil viewers. On the WB, "Smallville" (5.1mil) bested "Enterprise" (3.6mil), but it's obvious who's been most affected by "Idol" moving in the hour. "Smallville" is down some 40% versus new episodes at this time last season.
     At 9pm, after "Idol," "Oliver Beene" could only manage 11.3mil viewers. But before you knock that, remember, the much more established "24" did similar number a night previous. The CBS movie "The Blackwater Lightship" averaged a solid 10.6mil from 9 to 11pm, but only an anemic 1.7/4 in adults, leaving it fifth at 9pm. NBC was second in the hour with a series low 11.2mil viewers tuning into "The West Wing" and an even worse 3.4/8 in adults. Good thing NBC held out against massive pay increases for its stars last season. Was it worth letting Rob Lowe walk? It's looking increasingly smart as this once hot series hits the skids. "Angel" drew a below normal 4.2mil in the hour, beating out a repeat of "Top Model" (2.8mil) on the UPN. At 10pm, with "Idol" out of the way, NBC claimed the top spot with "Law & Order" (17.5mil), with CBS second and "Mole" third (8.3mil). "Law & Order" is another declining peacock series, but interestingly enough, it's actually up in the over night ratings. This episode drew a 14.4 rating in the overnights, but only a 11.2 in the nationals, significantly dropping from last season. and Nielsen says there's nothing wrong.... (February 5)

Viewers like Ellen, Millionaire, Oprah
    They may seem like a mutually exclusive group, but it's what viewers in the syndication world are watching according to the latest ratings. "Ellen" hit a series high 2.0 rating (every single point more than earned, might I add) with her breath-of-fresh air talk show. Comparatively, that was up 1.8 from the previoud week and up from a weak 1.3 rating the week it premiered. In the Philly market, where it recently moved to a better station to a better slot (10am), it's smahed the competition with a 25 share. Go Ellen go! In other rookier news, "Sharon Osbourne," which is all but dead, sank to a 1.3, while Ryan Seacrest could only manage a 1.0 in its second week, flat. But of course, the queen of all talkers is Oprah, as she has been for the last 20 years. She drew a 7.3 rating two weeks ago, flat over the previous week, but up 20% over last yeay. And rating for last week are bound to be more sweet- Oprah's 50th birthday bash recorded an 11.2/25 in the overnights, liekly to translate into a 10 - 10.5 in the nationals, her highest rating since she went down to Texas 8 years ago. 
     And for those questioning ABC for bringing back "Millionaire"- it may not be such a foolish idea. The daytime incarnation fo the show hit a 4 rating two weeks ago, it's highest yeat and up 20% year-to-year. News is all around good for sexy host Merideth Viera: an interview with her netted 13.6mil viewers last Friday on 20/20- its highest of the season, while "The View" is growing every week, despite airing in the same timeslot as "Ellen" in most of the country. Well I like the ladies of the view 
too, but Ellen's calling. (February 4)

Reality rocks Tuesday vote
    Reality was rocking once again on Thursday, and viewers voted for it. The big winners? Well, "American Idol," which hit a huge 30.1mil viewers (and a 13.2/33 in adults), it's highest ratings yet outside of last season's finale. It trashed everything in the hour, including it's only reality competition, "Survivor" (9.3mil), although it was just a repeat of the premiere. Third in the hour was ABC and "According To Jim" (7.7mil) and "I'm With Her" (6.4mil), both repeats, while new episodes of "Whoppi" (7.5mil) and "Happy Family" (6.6mil) were a tad back in fourth. Fifth went to "Gilmore Girls" (4.7mil), which is seeing some viewers go to "Idol," while the UPN aired repeats of it's comedies.
     The other reality winner of the night? Well, that was "America's Next Top Model." The show took off to a record 7.3mil viewers, up slightly over last week. Though it was fifth in the hour, that's mightly impressive. "24" won the hour with a measly 11.5mil viewers. That would normally be good, but it lost 62% of it's lead-in and 63% in adults. Yes, it looks like "24"s heady days are over. NBC was third with 12.5mil tuning in for "Frasier" and 10mil staying tuned in for "Scrubs," while "Navy NCIS" was third with 11mil. The only repeats in the hour, "According To Jim" (8.4mil) and "Less Than Perfect" (8.0mil) were about a million viewers over the UPN, which trounced "One Tree Hill" (4.1mil), which does seem to be finding an audience. At 10pm, it was "SVU" (13.8mil) over "Amy" (11.5mil) abd the last episode of "Line Of Fire." (5.7mil). Nope, not chance in hell that one's coming back. (February 4)

                 January 2004 News