‘Wife’ Above ‘Law’ in Key Category

“Wife Swap,” ABC’s “reality” series about women who temporarily switch families, opened to strong ratings Wednesday, knocking NBC’s venerable “Law & Order” to an unusual third-place finish in the advertiser-friendly young-adults category.

NBC’s legal drama, now in its 15th season, has long dominated the 10 p.m. hour, but last week CBS scored a crucial premiere-week victory with “CSI: NY,” a spinoff of its hit “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.” On Wednesday, “CSI: NY” won again (19.5 million viewers), trailed by “Law & Order” (12.9 million) and “Wife Swap” (11 million), according to figures from Nielsen Media Research. The news was even worse for NBC among viewers aged 18 to 49. In that group, the ABC series edged past “Law & Order.”

ABC Primetime Entertainment President Stephen McPherson said he found the results encouraging. An NBC spokesman said viewers were simply sampling the new shows.

-- Scott Collins