CBS Rules Thursday Night Ratings Roost THR

New installments of "Survivor," "CSI" and "The Mentalist" led CBS to dominate Thursday night in the ratings, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

At 8 o'clock, "Survivor" pulled down a preliminary Nielsen rating of 3.9 in the adults 18-49 demo, more than the first hour of NBC's "Saturday Night Live: A Very Gilly Christmas" clip special, which averaged a 3.0.

At 9, "CSI" held to a 3.4 among 18- to 49-year-olds, topping "SNL's" 3.2.

The "SNL" special gave NBC its best time-period performance since early October, drawing 7.8 million total viewers.

Finally, at 10 o'clock, "The Mentalist" earned a 3.6, beating NBC's "The Jay Leno Show," which, at a 1.7, hit a nine-week high thanks to the "SNL" lead-in.

-- Allison J. Waldman