Prime-Time Metered Market Ratings: Friday and Saturday Highlights (Mediaweek.com)

-Fridays Winners:
The Price is Right (CBS), House R (Fox), 20/20: What Would You Do? (ABC)

-Fridays Losers (Excluding Repeats):
Dateline (NBC)

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-Ratings Breakdown:
It was a night of split leadership on this final Friday of the February 2008 sweeps (does anyone even know it is the Feb. sweeps?), with CBS the most-watched network and Fox No. 1 overall among adults 18-49. CBS game show The Price is Right moved back into prime-time with a first place finish in both total viewers and adults 18-49 at 8 p.m., beating NBCs competing 1 vs. 100 as follows:

Friday 8 p.m.
The Price Is Right (CBS)
Viewers: 9.36 million (#1 overall for the evening), A18-49: 2.5 rating/8 share (#1)

1 vs. 100 (NBC)
Viewers: 7.55 million (#2), A18-49: 2.1/ 6 (#3)

Also in the 8 p.m. hour was a repeat of Foxs Bones (Viewers: #3: 7.04 million; A18-49: #2, 2.3/ 7), the first half of the CWs departing Friday Night Smackdown! (Viewers: #4, 4.32 million; A18-49: #4, 1.3/ 4), and a repeat of Greys Anatomy on ABC (Viewers: #5: 3.97 million; A18-49: #5, 1.0/ 3). Overall, Friday Night Smackdown! averaged a typically respectable 4.72 million viewers and a 1.4/ 4 among adults 18-49 from 8-10 p.m. Too bad the CW is losing it.

In series-premiere news, NBC game show Amnesia is no doubt compatible with lead-in 1 vs. 100 at a second-place finish in both total viewers (7.55 million) and adults 18-49 (2.4/ 7) at 9 p.m. But wasnt the show truly awful? First in the hour was a repeat of Foxs House with 7.92 million viewers and a 2.8/ 8 in the demo. Rounding off the time period was an early edition of ABCs 20/20 (Viewers: #3: 6.64 million; A18-49: #3, 1.8/ 5), a repeat of CBS Ghost Whisperer (Viewers: #4, 6.35 million; A18-49: #4, 1.7/ 5), and the aforementioned second half of the CWs Friday Night Smackdown! (Viewers: #5, 5.12 million; A18-49: #5, 1.5/ 4). Ghost Whisperer has been temporarily pushed back to make room for The Price is Right.

ABCs 20/20, themed What Would You Do?, won the 10 p.m. hour, with 8.64 million viewers and a 2.9/ 8 among adults 18-49. Tied for the No. 2 and 3 spots were a repeat of CBS Numb3rs (Viewers: #2, 7.87 million; A18-49: #3, 1.8/ 5) and a Friday edition of NBCs Dateline (Viewers: #3: 6.34 million; A18-49: #2, 2.0/ 6).

Friday 2/22/08
Note: The following results are based on the fast affiliate ratings (Live Plus Same Day data).

Household Rating/Share
CBS: 5.1/ 9, Fox: 4.8/ 8, NBC: 4.6/ 8, ABC: 4.2/ 7, CW: 2.8/ 5

-Total Viewers:
CBS: 7.86 million, Fox: 7.48, NBC: 7.15, ABC: 6.33, CW: 4.72

-Adults 18-49:
Fox: 2.5 rating/7 share, NBC: 2.2/ 6, CBS: 2.0/ 6, ABC: 1.9/ 5, CW: 1.4/ 4

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-Saturdays Winners:
Nothing

-Saturdays Losers (excluding repeats):
The night overall

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-Ratings Breakdown:
Fox led this typically uneventful Saturday with its perennial combination of Cops (Viewers: #1: 6.27 million; A18-49: #1, 2.3 rating/ 8 share) and Americas Most Wanted (Viewers: #1, 5.98 million; A18-49: #1, 2.1/ 6).

CBS finished second in total viewers and third overall among adults 18-49 with its line-up of a repeat of Shark (Viewers: #2: 4.95 million; A18-49: #4, 0.7/ 2) and back-to-back episodes of 48 Hours Mystery, which averaged 5.82 million viewers and a 1.3/ 4 among adults 18-49 from 9-11 p.m., building in every half-hour as follows:

48 Hours Mystery (CBS)
9:00 p.m. Viewers: 4.99 million (#2), A18-49: 0.9/ 3 (#4)
9:30 p.m. Viewers: 5.59 million (#2), A18-49: 1.1/ 3 (#4)
10:00 p.m. Viewers: 6.02 million (#1), A18-49: 1.4/ 4 (#3)
10:30 p.m. Viewers: 6.69 million (#1), A18-49: 1.7/ 5 (#3)

ABC aired a repeat of Academy Award winning theatrical Forrest Gump (Viewers: #3, 4.67 million; A18-49: #2, 1.6/ 5 from 8-11 p.m.). And NBC capped off Saturday with a repeat of first episode of reality/competition My Dad is Better Than Your Dad (Viewers: #4, 2.67 million; A18-49: #3, 0.8/ 2) and a repeat of made-for remake Knight Rider (Viewers: 4.79 million; A18-49: 1.4/ 4 from 9-11 p.m.). All together now�what a night!

For overnight results on Saturday Night Live, see Ratings Box below.

Saturday 2/23/08
Note: The following results are based on the fast affiliate ratings (Live Plus Same Day data).

HH
Rtg/Shr
Fox 3.8/ 7
CBS 3.8/ 7
ABC 2.9/ 5
NBC 2.6/ 5

-Total Viewers:
Fox: 6.12 million, CBS: 5.53, ABC: 4.67, NBC: 4.08

-Adults 18-49:
Fox: 2.1 rating/7 share, ABC: 1.6/ 5, NBC: 1.3/ 4, CBS: 1.1/ 3

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Note: The metered market (overnight) results for Sunday, Feb. 24 were not available at press time.

Source: Nielsen Media Research data

-- Marc Berman

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