‘Survivor’ makes it an easy win for CBS

It’s no longer a phenomenon, but “Survivor” has turned into a very dependable performer for CBS.

The finale of “Survivor: Thailand,” the game’s fifth edition, drew 24 million viewers Thursday. The one-hour reunion that followed had 20 million people watching, making both shows the most popular of the week, according to Nielsen Media Research.

That was less than half the 51 million people who saw Richard Hatch win the first $1 million prize in August 2000. Judging from the blistering comments by fellow contestants during the final tribal council, used car salesman and sometime soft-core porn actor Brian Heidik may be the show’s most villainous champion since Hatch. The final episode led CBS to an easy ratings win among all viewers and, for the first time this season with the 18-to-49-old viewers most advertisers seek.

In all, CBS had the top four shows of the week, and seven of the top 10, although the network mostly offered original episodes against repeats on the other networks.

NBC’s “Providence,” which may have aired its last original episode last week, just missed the top 10 with 13.3 million viewers. NBC has canceled the show, but its executives have admitted to second-guessing that decision.

A repeat “Friends” was NBC’s most popular show, underscoring the importance of the surprise deal last weekend to bring the show back for 18 episodes next season. It finished in sixth position.

The “Monday Night Football” contest between the New England Patriots and Tennessee Titans was ABC’s top-rated show of the week, in fifth place.

Among the special holiday-themed programs, CBS’ repeat of the TV Movie “A Town Without Christmas” fared best, ending up in 26th place. ABC’s “Wonderful World of Disney” movie “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” finished in 35th place.

For the week, CBS averaged 12.7 million viewers (8.2 rating, 14 share). NBC had 9.2 million viewers (6.2, 10), ABC had 9.1 million (5.9, 10), Fox had 6.4 million (4.0, 7), UPN had 3.8 million (2.3, 4), the WB had 3.4 million (2.1, 3) and Pax TV had 1.4 million (0.9, 2).

“NBC Nightly News” won the evening news race, averaging 10.9 million viewers (7.6 rating, 15 share). ABC’s “World News Tonight” had 10.2 million viewers (7.1, 14) and “The CBS Evening News” averaged 8.6 million (6.1, 12).

A ratings point represents 1,067,000 households, or 1% of the nation’s estimated 106.7 million TV homes. The share is the percentage of in-use televisions tuned to a given show.

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National Nielsen Viewership

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