First-run series show Nielsen rating muscle

Just when people were worried about the future of scripted television, a new crop of shows has given Hollywood a reason for optimism.

Five of the top 18 programs in Nielsen Media Research's prime-time rankings last week were freshman scripted shows, four of them dramas and the most popular, "Desperate Housewives," skirting the line between comedy and melodrama.

The other strong performers: ABC's "Lost," NBC's "Medium," Fox's "House" and CBS' "CSI: NY." The networks were relying on the shows during a ratings sweeps month -- often the time for specials and gimmicks -- and they delivered.

The latest edition of "Survivor," this time in Palau, made a strong return to CBS' Thursday lineup with 23.7 million viewers. The flip side was the continued deterioration of NBC's competing comedies: "Joey" was in 40th place for the week with 9.8 million viewers, Nielsen said.

Another proven Nielsen commodity came up short last week. ABC drew only 8.8 million for its two-hour special on Michael Jackson's friendships.

CBS won the week, averaging 13.4 million viewers, which gives a 8.6 rating and 14 share. Fox easily won among the closely watched youthful demographic. Among all viewers, NBC had 10.7 million (7.1, 11), ABC 10.4 million (6.8, 11) and Fox 10.2 million (6.1, 10). The WB had 3.5 million (2.3, 4), UPN 3.2 million (2.2, 3) and Pax TV 670,000 (0.4, 1).

NBC's "Nightly News" won the evening news ratings race, averaging 10.2 million viewers (7.1, 14). ABC's "World News Tonight" had 9.7 million viewers (6.7, 13) and the "CBS Evening News" had 7.4 million (5.3, 10).

A ratings point represents 1,096,000 households, or 1 percent of the nation's estimated 109.6 million TV homes. The share is the percentage of in-use televisions tuned to a given show.

For the week of Feb. 14 to 20, the top 10 shows, their networks and viewerships: "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 30.7 million; "American Idol" (Tuesday), Fox, 27.1 million; "American Idol" (Wednesday), Fox, 26.3 million; "Desperate Housewives," ABC, 24.2 million; "Survivor: Palau," CBS, 23.7 million; "Without a Trace," CBS, 21 million; "CSI: Miami," CBS, 19.4 million; "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," ABC, 18.3 million; "CBS Sunday Movie: Stone Cold," CBS, 18 million; "Lost," ABC, 17.9 million.