Yule TV Ratings Low on Tinsel

It was a case of the ho-ho-ho-hums on the Nielsen charts last week.

The typically low-rated Christmas week lived down to tradition as a slate of reruns, sports and tired specials dominated the airwaves.

CBS' stocking was stuffed with 13 of the top 30 shows, led by repeats of network stalwarts Everybody Loves Raymond (number one, 17 million viewers), CSI (number three, 15.8 million), Two and a Half Men (yes, a stalwart at number four with 15.5 million viewers) and CSI: Miami (number five, 14.8 million) along with the broadcast premiere of Ocean's Eleven (number 13, 11.6 million).

ABC, whose Christmas arrived really early this year, when viewers discovered Desperate Housewives and Lost back in September, has completed its turnaround from perennial ratings doormat. The Alphabet net scored 12 of the top 30 shows, powered by a Monday Night Football showdown between the Miami Dolphins and the New England Patriots (number two, 16.2 million), reruns of the aforementioned Housewives (number seven, 12.9 million) and Lost (numbers 14 and 15 with 11.6 million viewers for a special Sunday night telecast and 11.3 million tuning in for a repeat in the show's normal Tuesday slot) and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (number 11, 11.9 million).

With CBS and ABC dominating, NBC and Fox were left to battle over the scraps. The downtrodden NBC only landed four shows among the top 30, with just one, Law & Order: SVU (number 18, 10.7 million), drawing more than 10 million viewers.

The Grinch might as well have made off with Fox's holiday as the network only managed one show in the top 30 and that was purely luck. Because Sunday football went long, the network's postgame wrap-up ran in prime time, finishing in 10th place with 12 million viewers. Fox's most watched entertainment program was The Swan 2 way down in 43rd place with an ugly duckling-esque 7.2 million viewers.

In other action: ABC's much hyped NBA showdown between Shaquille O'Neal's Miami Heat and Kobe Bryant's Los Angeles Lakers was a slam dunk for the network, scoring the best ratings for an NBA game since a 1998 game between Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls and the New York Knicks.
ABC's holiday specials--The Santa Clause (21st, 10.4 million), The Sound of Music (49th, 6.9 million) and I'll Be Home for Christmas (62nd, 5.9 million)--outperformed NBC's Yule offerings--the umpteenth rerun of It's a Wonderful Life (72nd, 4.43 million) and A Christmas Carol (73rd, 4.38 million).
In a Tuesday night reality showdown, CBS' Amazing Race 6 special, the first half of a two-parter, outgained NBC's The Biggest Loser, which slimmed down to the final four, 10.7 million viewers to 9.7 million.
Speaking of biggest losers, NBC returned its hugely hyped, mega-budgeted 'toon Father of the Pride to the schedule and nobody noticed (59th, 6.2 million).
First-run episodes of Fox's Nanny 911 (48th, 7 million), House (52nd, 6.7 million), Quintuplets (70th, 4.8 million) and Rebel Billionaire (85th, 2.8 million) all tanked.
Fox did get some good news on the cable front: for the first time, according to Nielsen Media Research, Fox News Channel averaged more viewers over the course of the week than CNN, MSNBC, CNBC and CNN Headline news combined.
An original episode of the WB's The Mountain has the distinction of being the least tuned-to show on a major network, drawing just 1.1 million viewers.
CBS won the week in total viewers, averaging 10 million viewers to ABC's 9.7, NBC's 7 million, Fox's 5.8 million, UPN's 2.8 million and the WB's 2.3 million. ABC broke CBS' six-week streak of wins in the demographically desirable 18-49 demo

Here's a rundown of the top 10 most watched shows for the week ended Sunday, according to Nielsen Media Research:

1. Everybody Loves Raymond, CBS, 17 million viewers
2. NFL Monday Night Football (New England at Miami), ABC, 16.2 million viewers
3. CSI, CBS, 15.8 million viewers
4. Two And a Half Men, CBS, 15.5 million viewers
5. CSI: Miami, CBS, 14.8 million viewers
6. Without a Trace, CBS, 13.1 million viewers
7. Desperate Housewives, ABC, 12.9 million viewers
8. NFL Monday Showcase, ABC, 12.5 million viewers
9. 60 Minutes, CBS, 12.4 million viewers
10. Fox NFL Sunday Postgame, Fox, 12 million viewers