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[05/26/05 - 12:00 AM]
The 2004-2005 Season: A Year of Historic Viewership and Demographic Victories for CBS
[via press release from CBS]

THE 2004-2005 SEASON: A YEAR OF HISTORIC VIEWERSHIP AND DEMOGRAPHIC VICTORIES FOR CBS

CBS WINS THE 2004-2005 SEASON IN VIEWERS, ADULTS 25-54 AND WITH REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING IS ALSO FIRST IN ADULTS 18-49

CBS Is America's Most Watched Network For the Fourth Time In The Past Five Seasons�Winning By Almost Three Million Viewers, The Widest Margin By Any Network in 16 Years

CBS Posts Back-to-Back Wins Among Adults 25-54 For the First Time in Three Decades

CBS Places First in Adults 18-49 For the First Time in 30 Years With Its Regularly Scheduled Programs

Network Finishes In a Virtual Tie With Fox Overall in Adults 18-49 With The Super Bowl or One Baseball Game the Only Difference

CBS Is Also First in Women 18-49 and Women 25-54

In a Seismic Shift, CBS Wins Thursday in Viewers, Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54 For the First Time in 20 Years

"CSI" Remains The #1 Scripted Program

"Everybody Loves Raymond" Ends Its 9-Year Run as The #1 Comedy and "Two and a Half Men" As the #2 Comedy

CBS Has More Top 20 Programs Than Any Network in Viewers and Key Demographics

CBS Wins The May Sweeps in Viewers and Adults 25-54

For CBS, the 2004-2005 season was a historic year of viewership and demographic records. While CBS finished the season first in viewers and adults 25-54 for a second straight year, CBS also accomplished something that hasn't happened since the days of Hawkeye Pierce, Archie Bunker and Mary Richards�come in first among adults 18-49 with its lineup of regularly scheduled programs. CBS also placed first in women 18-49 and women 25-54.

CBS won the 2004-2005 season by nearly three million viewers ahead of second place ABC -- the largest margin any network has held in 16 years. The Network is also #1 in adults 25-54 for the second consecutive year, the first time CBS has accomplished that feat in three decades, and is #1 in adults 18-49 with regularly scheduled programming for the first time in 30 years.

Among all programming, CBS finished the season in a virtual tie with FOX for first in adults 18-49 with FOX's broadcast of the Super Bowl or just one League Championship baseball game accounting for the 140,000 adult 18-49 viewer difference in this demographic.

And in a seismic nightly shift, CBS won Thursday, the most important night of the week, in viewers for the third consecutive year and adults 25-54 and adults 18-49 for the first time in 20 years.

CBS displayed across-the-board schedule strength with more top 20 hits than any other network and a leadership position in every program genre. CBS will return television's #1 drama and scripted series, CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION; the #1 returning comedy, TWO AND A HALF MEN; the #1 news magazine, 60 MINUTES; and the premiere reality series SURVIVOR and the two-time Emmy Award-winning THE AMAZING RACE.

CBS won 31 of 35 weeks this season in viewers, 26 of 35 weeks in adults 25-54 and 17 of 35 weeks (or nearly half) in adults 18-49.

2004-2005 Final Season Averages For Regularly Scheduled Programs (vs. last year)

Viewers Adults 25-54 Adults 18-49

CBS 13.27 (+2%) 5.0/12 (+4%) 4.1/11 (+8%)
NBC 10.05 (-12%) 4.3/10 (-14% 3.6/10 (-18%)
ABC 10.02 (+14% 4.3/10 (+13%) 3.8/10 (+19%)
FOX 9.22 (-1%) 4.1/10 (n.c.) 3.9/10 (-3%)

2004-2005 Final Season Network Averages Among All Programs (vs. last year)

CBS 12.92 (-1%) 4.9/12 (n.c) 4.0/11 (+3%)
NBC 9.78 (-11%) 4.2/10 (-13%) 3.5/09 (-17%)
ABC 10.05 (+12%) 4.3/10 (+13%) 3.7/10 (+16%)
FOX 10.04 (+3%) 4.3/10 (+2%) 4.1/11 (n.c.)

CBS had nine of the top 20 programs in viewers, more than any other network: CSI, #2; SURVIVOR: PALAU, #5, SURVIVOR: VANUATU, #6; CSI: MIAMI, #7; WITHOUT A TRACE, #8; EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND, #10; TWO AND A HALF MEN, #11; COLD CASE, #17 and 60 MINUTES, #19.

CBS had eight of the top 20 in both adults 25-54 and adults 18-49, also more than any other network in both demographics.

CBS won Monday and Thursday in viewers and key demographics, Friday in viewers and placed second on Tuesday and Sunday in viewers and demographics.

In the most dramatic nightly reversal of fortune, CBS's powerful Thursday night line-up of SURVIVOR, CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION and WITHOUT A TRACE dominated in viewers for the third consecutive season, with a 7 million viewer lead over NBC, and is first in both adults 18-49 and adults 25-54 for the first time in 20 years.

CBS vs. Competition on Thursday in 2004-2005

Viewers Adults 25-54 Adults 18-49

CBS 20.43 8.5/20 7.0/18
NBC 13.11 6.6/16 6.0/16
ABC 6.75 2.6/06 2.2/06
FOX 6.53 2.6/06 2.7/07

In the key 10:00-11:00 PM (Monday-Friday) hour leading into affiliate late local news, CBS was first in all categories with year-to-year increases of +15% in viewers (14.51m vs. 12.63m), +20% in adults 25-54 (5.9/14 vs. 4.9/12), +23% in adults 18-49 (4.8/13 vs. 3.9/11) and +30% in adults 18-34 (3.5/11 vs. 2.7/8). 1.80m in the first 35 weeks of last season to just 1.30m this season.

With three nights remaining in the season, LATE SHOW is closing the gap with "The Tonight Show." In key demos, LATE SHOW trails "The Tonight Show" by -0.5 each in adults 18-34, adults 18-49 and adults 25-54. Last year season-to-date, LATE SHOW trailed "The Tonight Show" by -0.7 in all three measures. LATE SHOW cut "The Tonight Show"'s lead in viewers from 1.78m in the first 35 weeks of last season to just 1.30m this season.

MAY SWEEP

With three nights remaining in the May sweep, CBS is on the verge of another first place finish in viewers and adults 25-54, CBS's eighth sweep win in the last nine in viewers and second of the last three in adults 25-54.

PRIMETIME
MAY 2005 SWEEP: 28 DAYS - FULL SWEEP
(4/28/05-5/25/05 vs. 4/29/04-5/26/04)

2005 2004 Chg

HOUSEHOLDS

CBS 8.8/15 #1 8.2/14 #1 +7%
NBC 6.3/10 #3(T) 7.6/13 #2 -17%
ABC 6.3/10 #3(T) 5.2/09 #4 +21%
FOX 6.5/11 #2 6.1/10 #3 +7%
WB 2.3/04 #5(T) 2.4/04 #5 -4%
UPN 2.3/04 #5(T) 2.0/03 #6 +15%

PERSONS 2+ (Millions)

CBS 13.62 #1 12.53 #1 +9%
NBC 9.29 #4 11.63 #2 -20%
ABC 9.76 #3 7.99 #4 +22%
FOX 10.69 #2 9.82 #3 +9%
WB 3.40 #6 3.54 #5 -4%
UPN 3.43 #5 2.97 #6 +15%

ADULTS 25-54

CBS 5.1/13 #1 4.7/12 #2 +9%
NBC 3.9/10 #4 5.0/13 #1 -22%
ABC 4.3/11 #3 3.3/08 #4 +30%
FOX 4.7/12 #2 4.3/11 #3 +9%
WB 1.4/03 #5(T) 1.4/04 #5 n.c.
UPN 1.4/03 #5(T) 1.2/03 #6 +17%

ADULTS 18-49

CBS 4.1/11 #2 3.8/11 #3 +8%
NBC 3.2/09 #4 4.4/13 #1 -27%
ABC 3.7/10 #3 2.9/08 #4 +28%
FOX 4.5/13 #1 4.2/12 #2 +7%
WB 1.4/04 #6 1.5/04 #5 -7%
UPN 1.5/04 #5 1.2/03 #6 +25%





  [may 2005]  
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· 60 MINUTES (CBS)
· AMAZING RACE, THE (CBS)
· COLD CASE (CBS)
· CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION (CBS)
· CSI: MIAMI (CBS)
· EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND (CBS)
· SURVIVOR (CBS)
· TWO AND A HALF MEN (CBS)
· WITHOUT A TRACE (CBS)




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