ABC was the top network on a slow Monday night in the ratings, riding the strength of one of its long-running reality franchises to a narrow victory over CBS’s all-repeat lineup, TVbytheNumbers.com reported.

“The Bachelor,” which aired for two hours, was the top show of the night. Overall, ABC finished with a 2.7 average rating in the 18-49 demo, better than CBS’s 2.4, Fox’s 2.2 and NBC’s 1.8. The race for total viewers was tighter, but again it was ABC on top, averaging 8.4 million viewers to 8.2 million for CBS, 7.4 million for Fox and 7.2 million for NBC.

At 8 p.m. "The Bachelor’s" first hour earned an average of 3.0 in the 18-49 demographic, better than Fox’s "Human Target" with a 2.15 in the same demo. NBC’s "Chuck" logged a 1.75 for the hour in the 18-49 demo and CW’s "90210" collected a 0.8 in the same demo.

At 9 p.m. hour two of "The Bachelor" rose to a 3.35 average in the 18-49 demo for the hour, while Fox’s "Lie to Me" netted a 2.15 in the same demo, and NBC’s "The Cape" managed a 1.5, also in the 18-49 demo. CW’s "Gossip Girl" collected a 0.75 in the 18-49 demo.

The 10 p.m. hour was won by NBC’s "Harry’s Law" with a 2.05 in the 18-49 demo, going up against all reruns.