ABC Is Tops on a Lazy Week of Summer

A themed music week of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” paced the quiz show to some of its highest ratings since May, helping ABC emerge as the most-watched network for the first time in 16 weeks, based on viewing estimates issued Tuesday by Nielsen Media Research.

NBC’s “Fear Factor” also continues to impress viewers if not critics, for the first time topping the prime-time standings. The overall story for summer tryouts remains mixed, however, as sketch comedy “The Downer Channel” failed to uplift NBC’s ratings. In similar fashion, Fox got off to a respectable start with its hybrid mystery “Murder in Small Town X” while its anthology “Night Visions” keeps struggling on Thursdays.

One pattern is holding firm, with hordes of viewers shunning reruns while tuning in original episodes of quiz shows, newsmagazines and unscripted programs. CBS can claim the two notable exceptions, “Everybody Loves Raymond” and “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” again the only scripted series to crack the week’s Top 10.

Fox’s promotional special “Planet of the Apes: Rule the Planet” won its time slot among teenagers and male demographics, reflecting some of the advance interest in the film. The network also brought back “Family Guy,” hoping to provide the animated series some exposure before the fall, when it will face the unenviable task of playing opposite “Friends” and “Survivor.”

Network Averages

Here is the number of viewers (in millions) that each network averaged per hour of prime time, for last week and for the season.

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Network Last week Season To date ABC 8.51 11.39 NBC 7.95 10.91 CBS 7.94 11.58 FOX 5.31 8.73 UPN 3.13 3.61 WB 2.59 3.47

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