‘Survivor’ Catapults CBS to Top of the Ratings Heap

It’s not often that two cultural phenomena pass in the night, but that’s what happened in the February rating sweeps, as the latest “Survivor” hoisted CBS atop the ratings while last season’s sensation, “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” took the down escalator and ABC’s fortunes with it.

“Survivor: The Australian Outback” picked up where its predecessor left off in quickly becoming TV’s most-watched series, helping CBS emerge as the No. 1 network with an estimated 13.7 million viewers per average minute of prime time over the four-week ratings survey, which concluded Wednesday night.

By contrast, “Millionaire” demonstrated just how quickly that sort of programming freight train can lose steam, declining nearly 40% compared to last February, when the show was at its peak. That translates to a loss of 11 million viewers nightly, with an even more precipitous drop among the young-adult demographics coveted by advertisers.

Thanks to a finishing kick from “The West Wing” and “Law & Order,” NBC ranked second, edging ABC by a mere 50,000 viewers--12.64 to 12.59 million, according to Nielsen Media Research data--reflecting a 21% year-to-year descent for ABC.

Fox rode the tide from “Temptation Island” to 10.7 million viewers in prime time, a 5% increase from the corresponding period last year, though the last “Island” installment, broadcast Wednesday, yielded few fireworks. The episode drew an estimated 17.5 million viewers, placing third among the show’s seven telecasts. In the preceding hour the finale of another staged, unscripted program, ABC’s “The Mole,” drew 15.4 million viewers, its biggest audience.

CBS’ prime-time performance represents a small improvement from last year and its first sweeps victory since 1998. In addition, the network has established another clear-cut hit in “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” as the first-year drama added 6.6 million viewers versus the last sweeps in November in moving from Fridays to Thursdays following “Survivor.”

Buoyed by that combination, CBS--which has long possessed the oldest audience profile among major broadcasters due to programs such as “Diagnosis Murder” and “Touched by an Angel”--also climbed into a tie with ABC among adults age 18 to 49, TV’s primary currency in negotiating advertising rates and thus a barometer of profitability. ABC’s collapse cleared the way for NBC to rank first by that measure, followed by Fox.

Moreover, thanks to “ER,” the two “Law & Order” series and the Monday drama “Third Watch,” NBC remained first from 10:30 to 11 p.m.--a key half-hour to affiliated stations, because it funnels viewers directly into the late local newscasts from which they derive the lion’s share of their ad revenue. Sweeps are staged primarily to benefit local stations, which obtain demographic ratings during those key months.

Underscoring how “West Wing” has solidified its hit credentials, viewing of the White House drama rose 34% versus a year ago, according to Nielsen polls. “Law & Order” also remains a major success story, delivering its highest average audience ever during any sweeps period despite facing off one week against the Grammy Awards--bucking the erosion one might reasonably expect from a show in its 11th season.

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ABC expanded “Millionaire” from three to four weekly editions in the fall, which may have hastened its slippage. With much of the young audience that watched the show abandoning it, its profile now hews more closely to that of other game shows, such as “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy!”

“None of us expected ‘Millionaire’ to stay at the levels it was at last year when it first came on the air,” said ABC Entertainment Television Group Co-Chairman Lloyd Braun during a conference call with reporters earlier this week, pointing out that all the networks are “one hit away from dramatically changing the landscape.”

Still, for ABC that hit has been sorely lacking since “Millionaire” made its debut, leaving the network hoping several midseason series arriving this month will compensate for a disappointing 2000 rookie class that included “The Geena Davis Show” and “Gideon’s Crossing.”

The network also hasn’t ruled out reducing “Millionaire’s” presence next season, though such plans remain clouded due to the threat of strikes by writers and actors, which would make alternatives to sitcoms and dramas more precious.

After a two-month stretch that has included layoffs and the ouster of entertainment chief Garth Ancier, even with a 6% decline in viewing NBC executives expressed relief at withstanding the “Survivor” onslaught as well as they did--largely by stunting with “super-sized” episodes of “Friends”--and finishing so competitively despite dismal ratings for its start-up XFL football league.

“Thursday night remains ‘Must-See TV’ on NBC,” said NBC Entertainment President Jeff Zucker, adding that CBS’ surge--more than doubling its year-ago audience levels on the night--had no impact, drawing viewers from other sources.

Though NBC’s comedies largely weathered the storm, “ER” saw its audience diminish by 5.5 million people, compared to last February, when viewing soared, thanks to George Clooney’s much-ballyhooed departure.

Fox, meanwhile, successfully lured in younger viewers, ranking first among teenagers and the 18-to-34 age bracket, per breakdowns of Nielsen data; still, the network ran into difficulty selling media buyers on “Temptation Island,” as many sponsors shied away from the show’s lowbrow image.

“It’s been a challenge, as it often is in the marketplace when you push the envelope in terms of content,” conceded Fox Entertainment Group Chairman Sandy Grushow.

In fact, sources say advertiser resistance to “Temptation Island,” as well as much publicized lapses vetting contestant backgrounds, are among the reasons Fox waited until Thursday to announce plans for a second edition of the show and has delayed “Love Cruise,” an unscripted series about cabin-hopping singles on a cruise ship, originally scheduled to premiere in January.

Despite an increase in overall viewership of the major networks Thursdays, thanks to the “Survivor”-”Friends” showdown, over the entire sweeps just under 50 million people were watching the four networks at any given moment in prime time, a 6% decrease from February 2000. The WB network joined CBS and Fox in posting a small gain to 3.9 million viewers, while UPN fell 13%, to 3.7 million. (The WB is part-owned by Tribune Co., which owns the Los Angeles Times.)

TBS, the most-watched cable channel during February, averaged 2.4 million viewers.

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Sweeping Up

The top 10 series during February

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Avg. viewers in millions 1. “Survivor: The Australian Outback” (CBS) 28.8 2. “ER” (NBC) 27.0 3. “Friends” (NBC) 21.9 4. “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” (CBS) 21.4 5. “The Practice” (ABC) 20.8 6. “Will & Grace” (NBC) 19.3 7. “Law & Order” (NBC) 19.1 8. “Everybody Loves Raymond” (CBS) 19.0 9. “The West Wing” (NBC) 17.8 10. “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” (ABC) 17.6

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Source: Nielsen Media Research