"Survivor" Stumbles

Tue., Mar. 7, 2006 4:00 PM PST by Joal Ryan

Survivor could use an immunity necklace about now.

The 12th edition of the CBS reality series, Panama--Exile Island, fell short of the top 10 again last week, finishing 11th with 16.1 million viewers, per Nielsen Media Research.

Since its typically strong season debut on Feb. 2, the show's ratings have weakened by 17 percent. Once the ruler of the 8 p.m. Thursday hour, it's been inched off its throne by one event (Dancing with the Stars) after another event (Winter Olympics figure skating) after another event (American Idol).

Two weeks ago, when all three events ganged up on the game, Survivor dropped to a series-low 14.8 million viewers.

The ratings attrition, however, can't be blamed entirely on an especially cutthroat winter. Even when numbers from last fall's Guatamala edition are added in, the Survivor franchise is down 12 percent from last season. It's the first significant drop-off for the genre standard-bearer since the show stopped being an Idol-esque phenomenon, and started being another top 10 show, albeit a remarkably consistent Top 10 show.

For seven straight Survivor editions, from 2001's Africa to 2004's Palau, the series never averaged fewer than 20 million viewers for a season. Last year's Vanuatu showed the first sign of vulnerability, dipping to 19.6 million.

Ratings slump or no, CBS is not about to extinguish the show's torch. On Monday, the network announced it has already renewed Survivor for the 2006-07 season.

And the news keeps getting better for the castaways of Exile Island. Next week, they won't have to go up against American Idol.

Elsewhere in the TV week ended Sunday:

In American Idol's gender battle of the semifinalists, the girls took the latest heat, with their Tuesday competition (second place, 30.1 million) outdrawing the boys' Wednesday sing-off (third place, 29.6 million). On Thursday's Idol results show, a season-high 26.3 million (fifth place) heard, but likely did not understand, Paula Abdul's theory that two low-polling contestants fared poorly because one "ate pizza, and the other ate salad." The Fox comedy Free Ride (18th place, 13.6 million) took a free ride from Wednesday's Idol to a top 20 premiere. Likewise, The War at Home (21st place, 12.5 million) rode its Idol lead-in on Tuesday to the sitcom's best-ever numbers. Idol bestowed its final gift of the week to the Kristy Swanson-crowning finale of Skating with Celebrities (13th place, 14.1 million), which aired following Thursday's results episode. It's almost 80, but the Academy Awards (first place, 39 million) was the week's top draw among young adults, aged 18 to 49. Now, it's Barbara Walters' turn to cry. Exiled from Oscar night for the first time in the history of her Kleenex-dabbing Oscar interview specials, Walters saw ratings on her ABC show (43rd place, 9.7 million) freefall 22 percent from this year to last. King of Queens (32nd place, 10.8 million) was not offered an early renewal by CBS this week; How I Met Your Mother (41st place, 9.8 million) was. Overall, the Eyeball picked up 14 shows for next fall, including all three CSIs. The final schedule will be announced in May. The ninth-season premiere of CBS' Amazing Race (35th place, 10.4 million) was right in step with its eighth-season premiere. NBC's Las Vegas (31st place, 11 million) looked no worse for the move to Friday nights. From the department of That's Not the Way It Was Supposed to Work: NBC's venerable old lawyer show, Law & Order (23rd place, 12.4 million), scored more younger viewers than its new young lawyer show, Conviction (37th place, 10.3 million). Deal or No Deal isn't so big a deal anymore. The Howie Mandel-hosted NBC game show averaged 11 million viewers for a Monday-Friday marathon, down 13 percent from a similar run last December. The most watched episode was Monday's (19th place, 13.4 million); the least watched was Thursday's (45th place, 9.5 million). With fans rallying to save a place for the WB's One Tree Hill on the all-new CW, the show rallied with 3.4 million viewers (99th place) last week, up 17 percent over its season average.

Overall, Idol-powered Fox won the week in total viewers (averaging 14.5 million) and the 18-to-49 demo.

Academy Awards-powered ABC, which averaged 12.6 million viewers, took second in both categories. CBS (12.3 million) was a consensus third.

Minus the Winter Olympics' bobsledders and lugers, who helped more than hurt NBC, the Peacock was back to its usual fourth place self, averaging 9.6 million.

Here's a look at the 10 most watched prime-time shows for the week ended Sunday, according to Nielsen Media Research:

1. 78th Academy Awards, ABC, 39 million viewers
2. American Idol (Tuesday), Fox, 30 million viewers
3. American Idol (Wednesday), Fox, 29.6 million viewers
4. CSI, CBS, 27.8 million viewers
5. American Idol (Thursday), Fox, 26.3 million viewers
6. Without a Trace, CBS, 19.8 million viewers
7. CSI: Miami, CBS, 18.4 million viewers
8. Two and a Half Men, CBS, 17 million viewers
9. Oscar Countdown 2006, ABC, 16.98 million viewers
10. Lost, ABC, 16.4 million viewers