Wednesday night’s season finale of “America’s Next Top Model” landed The CW in third place among the major networks for the first time since its September launch.

The CW averaged a 2.4 rating for the evening among adults 18 to 49, according to preliminary Nielsen Media Research figures. It bested ABC (2.1) and Fox (2.0), giving the traditional fifth-place The CW its first third-place finish. It was also the highest-rated evening so far for The CW among its key adults 18 to 34 demographic.

The king of Wednesday night, however, was CBS, which won the evening with the ninth-season premiere of “King of Queens.” The episode earned a 3.2, followed by a “King of Queens” special (3.6). Two procedural reruns followed.

NBC was second with a “Biggest Loser” recap special (2.6), followed by a new “Loser” episode that was the highest rated of the season (4.0), then an average episode of “Medium” (3.1).

The CW tied its highest-rated “Top Model” finale ever (3.0), as well as had a season-high “One Tree Hill” (1.9).

In fourth place was ABC, which despite programming originals against a rerun-soaked field had a rough night. Game show “Show Me the Money” fell 14 percent from its already low-rated time-period average to a 1.9. “Money” was followed by the fourth, and likely final, episode of “Daybreak” (1.7), which continued to decline.

Fox was in fifth place with two reruns of “Bones.”