Despite her newsmaking interview with Michael J. Fox last week, Katie Couric's goal of taking the “CBS Evening News” to the top is getting further out of reach.
Her average audience of 7.3 million viewers left the “CBS Evening News” 1.1 million behind ABC's second-place “World News.” It was the biggest gap between the two broadcasts since the week of Feb. 6, according to Nielsen Media Research. NBC's “Nightly News” led the way with 8.9 million viewers last week.
The news was better for CBS in prime time, where it won again. All three versions of the “CSI” franchise finished among Nielsen's top-10 shows last week, as did the strong sophomore series “Criminal Minds.”
For the week, CBS averaged 12.3 million viewers (8.0 rating, 13 share), ABC averaged 11.4 million (7.3, 12), Fox had 10 million (6.5, 10), NBC had 9.7 million (6.3, 10), the CW had 3.6 million (2.3, 4) and the i network had 590,000 (0.4, 1)
Here are the prime-time ratings as compiled by Nielsen Media Research for Oct. 23-29:
1. “Desperate Housewives,” ABC.
2. “NFL National Post Game,” CBS.
3. “Dancing With the Stars,” ABC.
4. “Dancing With the Stars Results,” ABC.
5. “CSI: Miami,” CBS.
6. “CSI: NY,” CBS.
7. “NBC Sunday Night Football: Dallas at Carolina.”
8. “Lost,” ABC.
9. “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” CBS.
10. “Criminal Minds,” CBS.
11. “60 Minutes,” CBS.
12. “World Series Game 5: Detroit vs. St. Louis,” Fox.
13. “World Series Game 4: Detroit vs. St. Louis,” Fox.
14. “Deal or No Deal,” (Monday), NBC.
15. “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” ABC.
16. “World Series Game 3: Detroit vs. St. Louis,” Fox.
17. “Two and a Half Men,” CBS.
18. “Heroes,” NBC.
19. “Cold Case,” CBS.
20. “Without a Trace,” CBS.
