CBS Loses May Sweeps Ratings Battle To Fox

CSI: Miami's season finale last week won its 10pm timeslot, while CBS struggled against FOX in the May sweeps ratings war.

CSI: Miami had another successful night on Monday. The season finale, "10-7", was watched by 20.5 million viewers overall and received 7.1/18 of the share in the adults 18-49 key demo. This crowned "10-7" winner of its hour, beating NBC's Medium, which was watched by 11.9 million viewers, and ABC's Nick & Jessica: Tour of Duty, which was watched by 6.1 million. But while CBS was victor of the 25-54 age demographic, FOX ruled the 18-49 demo. The network ended the night with a 5.1/13 share in the age group thanks in part to the two hour season finale of 24, which attracted 12.1 million viewers overall. CBS came second in the 18-49 average for the night with 4.8/12 of the share.

CBS pre-empted CSI: New York on Wednesday night for the made-for-TV movie Amber Frey: Witness for the Prosecution. The telefilm sunk CBS to 4th place with 7.5 million viewers overall and 2.0/5 of the share in the 18-49 age group. FOX and ABC saw a victorious night with their respective shows American Idol (12.2 rating/30 share in adults 18-49 and 29.4 million viewers) and Lost (20.2 million viewers, 7.6 rating/19 share0. Combined, the shows averaged 49.6 million viewers and ruled half of the 18-49 audience watching television from 8 to 10.

CSI's first week of reruns began with "Snakes." The episode was watched by 15.82 million viewers overall and helping crown CBS winner of the night. The network's power block of Cold Case, which aired during Survivor's, slot, CSI, and Without a Trace (watched by 13.46 million) easily put out NBC's lineup, which consisted of two episodes of Joey and Will and Grace, and ER, which averaged 5.95 million viewers for the night.

In addition, CBS and FOX ended neck to neck in the race for May sweeps ratings. While FOX came in first place for the predominant 18-49 age demographic, CBS managed to attract more viewers. This places the network behind FOX for the sweeps period and the entire season.

For more on last week's ratings, head over to Variety's reports on Monday and Wednesday, and the New York Times report on Thursday.

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