'Dancing With the Stars' Beats 'Survivor' in the Nielsen Ratings
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By David Bauder THE ASSOCIATED PRESS  NEW YORK -- During the week leading up to the opening of the new television season, "Dancing With the Stars" made a strong return, Katie Couric won again and Fox's "Happy Hour" appears anything but.
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LOS ANGELES  - A dominating ratings  performance from "American Idol" took Fox where it hadn't been  since last season's May 24 finale of the talent show -- atop  the weekly ratings among adults 18-49 without the help of  sports.
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âHollywood Weekâ on âAmerican Idolâ had a promising start on Tuesday as a two-hour edition of that Fox talent competition trounced its competitors in the ratings, drawing 29.9 million viewers, according to Nielsenâs estimates. Although Tuesdayâs âIdolâ audience grew by 2 million compared with last weekâs, the first installment of âHollywood Weekâ last year attracted 31.2 million viewers. Trailing far behind Fox in the nightâs ratings, CBS drew the second most viewers, earning a solid 11.7 million at 8 p.m. for a rerun of âNCIS.â Later in the night, however, a more modest 7.3 million viewers tuned in at 9 for the premiere of âBig Brother: âTil Death Do You Part,â the first winter edition of that CBS summer mainstay. At 10 the second season debut of âJerichoâ attracted 7.2 million viewers, tying ABCâs âBoston Legal,â but trailing a repeat of NBCâs âLaw & Order: Special Victims Unitâ (8.3 million). NBC finished third for the night while edging past CBS for second place among adults 18 to 49 thanks to âThe Biggest Loser,â from 8 to 10 (7.5 million). ABC was a distant fourth overall.
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The Oscars and a new  episode of "Grey's Anatomy" helped ABC to its best week in the  ratings since it carried the Super Bowl in February 2006,  though it wasn't enough to beat the three-night-a-week  juggernaut that is Fox's "American Idol."
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ABC soared above the competition last week with dominating performances by college and pro football, as well as hits such as red-hot rookie "Desperate Housewives."
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How high can Housewives fly? Sunday's episode of ABC's hot Desperate Housewives drew a record 24.9 million viewers, according to preliminary Nielsens. And nearly 15 million of them were young adults, making the soapy suburban saga last week's top show among that crucial audience.
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-Yesterday's Winners (Taking the Expected Fast Affiliate Results into Account): Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann (ABC), American Gladiators (NBC), Deal or No Deal (NBC), Two and a Half Men R (CBS), Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (Fox), CSI: Miami R
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Fueled by coverage of the first three nights of the Summer Olympics, NBC handily won primetime in the week ended Aug. 15, according to Nielsen Media Research data issued Tuesday.
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Monday's ratings battle  between Jack Bauer's "24" and NBC's "Heroes" ended much as the  first, with another win for the Peacock.
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ABC is looking a lot less desperate this season. The typically cellar-dwelling network Sunday won huge audiences for critics' favorite Desperate Housewives, which eclipsed CSI: NY as this season's top-rated premiere.
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"Lost" crashed in the ratings this week, hitting an all-time low for a new episode. ABC's drama about plane crash survivors stranded on a mysterious island drew an estimated 12.8 million viewers Wednesday, according to preliminary figures from Nielsen Media Research. That's well off the peak of more than 20 million for the drama that became an instant sensation when it debuted in September 2004.
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Fox's "American Idol" returned as the nation's most popular TV series, but with 4 million fewer viewers than the 2007 season premiere. Tuesday's debut was seen by 33.4 million viewers, down 11 percent from the 37.4 million who watched the first show, according to preliminary ratings by Nielsen Media Research.
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CBS took both key audience  measures Sunday with the two-hour finale of "Survivor: Cook  Islands," which outvoted football on ABC and a movie on ABC.
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Prime-time viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen Media Research for July 2-8. Listings include the week's ranking, with viewership for the week and season-to-date rankings in parentheses. An "X" in parentheses denotes a one-time-only presentation.
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NEW YORK  - "Ugly Betty" was ever so pretty in the ratings department Thursday, which competed strongly against CBS stalwart "Survivor" to become the most-watched new show of the season.
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NBC, which finished fourth in the  prime-time ratings last spring, was the No. 1 network on the  opening night of the new U.S. broadcast season, according to  figures issued on Tuesday by Nielsen Media Research.
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NBC, which finished fourth in the   prime-time ratings last spring, was the No. 1 network on the   opening night of the new U.S. broadcast season, according to   figures issued on Tuesday by Nielsen Media Research.