Tiffany Bigger than Britney

Tue., Jun. 7, 2005 1:35 PM PDT by Joal Ryan

Why is Britney Spears' new TV show tanking? Perhaps the tabloid fixture is just too famous.

As prime time hits the summer season, it's a pair of new series stocked with reality TV retreads, one-hit wonders and the guy who played J. Peterman on Seinfeld that's pacing the competition.

ABC's Dancing with the Stars, wherein the likes of Bachelorette Trista Rehn, boxer Evander Holyfield and the J. Peterman guy (actor John O'Hurley) pair up with professional ballroom dancers, ranked second for the TV week ended Sunday, with 13.5 million viewers, per Nielsen Media Research.

NBC's Hit Me Baby One More Time, wherein the likes of A Flock of Seagulls ("I Ran") and Tiffany ("I Think We're Alone Now") return to the spotlight for at least one hour, was the week's most-watched show among coveted 18-to-49-year-old viewers. Overall, it took 17th place, with 8.9 million flashback fans.

Spears' Chaotic experiment, meanwhile, fell to a season-low 2.5 million viewers (92nd place) for UPN.

Dancing with the Stars and Hit Me Baby One More Time are British imports. Each week, Dancing eliminates one of its star/pro couplings in search of its ultimate champ; Hit Me Baby... crowns a winner each week in search of its ultimate comeback story.

Currently, Hit Me Baby... is slated for a three-episode run. This week's demi-star-studded lineup includes Vanilla Ice, the Knack and Tommy Tutone of "867-5309/Jenny."

Presumably Spears, whose 1999 hit inspired the show's name, can get a booking, too, in the event she ever stops being too famous.

Elsewhere:

As expected, Lisa Kudrow's TV comeback, HBO's Comeback (1.5 million viewers), was a ratings comedown from Friends. Unfortunately for the pay cable network, it was also a comedown from Entourage (1.6 million). USA's missing-persons-found drama The 4400 lost about 2.1 million viewers from its first-season premiere to its second-season opener, with last Sunday's episode watched by 5.3 million. The promise of a big night for Monty Python-inspired musical Spamalot drove ratings for CBS' Tony Awards (38th place, 6.5 million) all the way up by, um, 39,000 viewers over last year's all-time low. Miss America is down (9.8 million viewers last September for ABC), but the pageant is still on top of Miss Universe (9.2 million, 13th place, last week for NBC). NBC's broadcast of an Eagles' "farewell" concert in Australia saved 8.4 million (18th place) about $250 each in tickets, programs, T-shirts and parking. The premiere of Fox's Hell's Kitchen, featuring a British cook going Simon Cowell on aspiring chefs, was hot in name only--33rd place, 6.8 million. The new Ashton Kutcher-produced reality series, the WB's Beauty and the Geek (82nd place, 3.2 million), was no Chaotic, which is a good thing. The only thing lower rated than Jenny McCarthy's new UPN sitcom, The Bad Girl's Guide (110th place, 1.5 million) was a Sunday night WB repeat of Charmed (111th place, 1.4 million).

With the top 10 full of its drama and comedy repeats, CBS was the week's most watched network, averaging 8.4 million viewers.

Amid reports that NBC was forced to cut ad rates for the new fall season, the Peacock claimed a win in the 18-49 demo.

NBC placed second in viewers (7.1 million); ABC, third (6.5 million); and, Fox, fourth (5.2 million).

UPN topped the WB in viewers, 2.5 million to 2.3 million. The WB turned the tables on UPN in the 18-49 demo.

Here's a look at the most watched prime-time shows for the week ended Sunday, according to Nielsen Media Research:

1. CSI, CBS, 14.2 million viewers
2. Dancing with the Stars, ABC, 13.5 million viewers
3. CSI: Miami, CBS, 13.1 million viewers
4. Without a Trace, CBS, 12.6 million viewers
5. Two and a Half Men, CBS, 12.1 million viewers
6. Everybody Loves Raymond, CBS, 11.2 million viewers
7. 48 Hours Mystery, CBS, 10.7 million viewers
8. NCIS, CBS, 10.4 million viewers
9. 60 Minutes, CBS, 10.3 million viewers
10. Law & Order: Criminal Intent, NBC, 10 million viewers