Ratings Chart Attack!

Rain Washes Out World Series; Fox, ABC Tie for First

October 28, 2008 12:25 PM

A rain-suspended World Series on Fox and repeats for CBS spelled a nice uptick for ABC, with the network capitalizing on a 6% increase in ratings week-to-week to tie as the highest-rated net of the night.

Dancing With the Stars

Called after the sixth inning due to rain, Game 5 of the World Series soaked in a 4.0 rating in the 18- to 49-year-old demographic, according to preliminary Nielsen Media Research data.

The resumption of the game is tentatively set for Wednesday at 8:37 p.m. EDT, and Major League Baseball is closely monitoring the weather forecast.

Fox and ABC tied for first place with a 3.4 rating/8 share.

ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” (4.2/10) was about even from last week, while “Samantha Who?” (3.0/7) increased 11%. “Stars” overran by two minutes, which could shrink “Samantha’s” increase once final numbers are released.

“Boston Legal” (2.3/6) also was up by 10% from last week.

While CBS ran repeats Monday night, the network did replace “Worst Week” temporarily with “Gary Unmarried” (2.9/7, 8.6 million), which increased 26% in adults 18-49 over its previous season average in its Wednesday slot.

CBS took third with a 3.1/8 and 9.4 million viewers.

NBC’s “Chuck” (2.5/6) and “Heroes” (3.9/9) held even from last week, with “Heroes” tying its lowest rating ever, while “My Own Worst Enemy” (2.3/6) declined 8%. NBC placed fourth with a 2.9/7.

The CW’s “Gossip Girl” (1.5/4) rebounded from last week with a 13% increase in women 18-34, pulling in a 3.4/9 in that demographic. “One Tree Hill” (1.6/4), however, declined 16% in the same demo to a 3.7/9, down from its big showing last week. The CW ended the night in fifth place with a 1.6/4.

Odds and Ends:

“Friday Night Smackdown” continues to set records for MyNetworkTV, as the show drew 3.5 million total viewers on Friday, setting the high watermark in viewers on the network … again.

Check your cancellation bingo cards, as CBS’ “The Ex List” is in show limbo. The freshman romantic comedy is getting swapped out for “NCIS” repeats this Friday. While it’s not officially canceled, the prognosis isn’t good for “Ex.” It is good for me, as I need an “Ex” removal, plus an axe to fall on “Crusoe,” for a diagonal bingo.