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‘Earl’ Wins Night for NBC in the Demo

Sep 21, 2005  •  Post A Comment

NBC won the second night of the 2005-06 season with big boosts from the premiere of “My Name Is Earl,” which debuted as the winner for the night in the 18 to 49 demographic, and with the best-ever season premiere of “Law & Order: SVU,” which was the most-watched show of the night. For the night, NBC was up 21 percent in the 18 to 49 demographic compared with the second night of last season.

According to preliminary data from Nielsen Media Research, the heavily promoted premier of “Earl” at 9 p.m. (ET) won its half-hour and scored a 6.4 rating in adults 19 to 49. That is up 19 percent from the premier of “Father of the Pride” last year and ranks as the best Tuesday night premiere in the demo since September 2002. “The Office” at 9:30 p.m. retained 67 percent of its demo lead-in and finished with a 4.3 in the demo, up from its 2.5 average in its freshman run last spring. NBC start the night with 3.4 in the demo for “The Biggest Loser,” which was up 13 percent over last week’s “Loser.’

The second week into the freshman season of “Bones” at 9 p.m. and the second season of “House,” Fox was up 75 percent and 108 percent, respectively, in the demo, versus the fourth-quarter averages. “Bones” earned a 3.0 in the demo, while “House” got a 4.8, a collective 20 percent down from last week’s premieres.

CBS kicked off the night with a time slot winning 3.5 from “NCIS.” The finale of “Big Brother 6 dropped to a 3.2. At 10 p.m. “Rock Star: INXS” concluded its run with a series high 3.9, which fell flat behind NBC’s “SVU.”

For ABC, the 90-minute “Dancing With the Stars: Dance-Off” between winner Kelly Monaco and second-place John Hurley was off 58 percent from the disputed finale that led to it. Still, at a 2.8 “Dancing” improved on the 2.4 with which “According to Jim” opened its fifth season at 8 p.m., giving ABC its best performance in the time slot since March 8. Still, “Jim” was down 43 percent from its fourth season opener and down 27 percent from the season premiere last September of “My Wife and Kids,” which has since been canceled. “Wife Swap” finished a distant third at 10 p.m. with a 2.4 rating.

The WB started the night with a solid 2.4 rating from “Gilmore Girls.”

With its season premieres still to come next Tuesday, UPN showed year-to-year improvements and, perhaps more notably, week-to-week for the night. At 8 p.m. “America’s Next Top Model: Return to the Runway,” logged a 1.5 rating in the demo. The finale of “R U The Girl” grew to a 2.0, up 33 percent from its lead-in and up 122 percent from the time slot last week.