or


[03/03/06 - 12:00 AM]
Csi Becomes the First Series This Season to Draw More Viewers Than "American Idol" on a Given Night
[via press release from CBS]

"CSI" BECOMES THE FIRST SERIES THIS SEASON TO DRAW MORE VIEWERS THAN "AMERICAN IDOL" ON A GIVEN NIGHT

"Trace" Trumps Noah Wylie's Return to the "ER"

"Survivor: Panama" Posts Week to-Week Increases

CBS First in Viewers on Thursday

Back in first-run mode following its Olympic hiatus, CSI became the first series this season to draw more viewers than "American Idol" on a given night, according to Nielsen preliminary ratings for Thursday, March 2.

From 9:00-10:00 PM, CSI finished first in households (16.9/25), viewers (27.57m), adults 25-54 (11.3/24), adults 18-49 (8.9/21) and adults 18-34 (6.0/16). If the ratings hold, CSI becomes the first series to deliver more viewers and a better household rating than any edition of "American Idol" (15.2/23, 26.18m viewers last night) this season.

WITHOUT A TRACE won its time period in households (13.0/21), viewers (19.50m), adults 25-54 (7.4/18) and tied for first in adults 18-49 (5.8/15, with NBC). WITHOUT A TRACE beat "ER" by +51% in households (vs. 8.6/14), +9% in adults 25-54 (6.8/16) and +6.50m viewers (vs. 13.00m, +50%).

SURVIVOR: PANAMA - EXILE ISLAND was second in its time period, behind "American Idol Thursday" (S) in households (9.2/14), viewers (16.24m), adults 25-54 (7.0/16), adults 18-49 (5.5/14) and adults 18-34 (3.5/10). Compared to last week, SURVIVOR: PANAMA -- EXILE ISLAND is up +10% in households (from 8.4/12), +9% in viewers (from 14.85m), +6% in adults 25-54 (from 6.6/15) and even in adults 18-49.

For the night, CBS was first in households (13.0/20), viewers (21.10m), second in adults 25-54 (8.5/19), adults 18-49 (6.7/17) and adults 18-34 (4.4/13).

Final ratings will be available this afternoon.

[EDITOR'S NOTE: What follows is the afternoon update with the final national Nielsen ratings.]

"CSI" BECOMES THE FIRST SERIES IN ALMOST TWO YEARS TO DRAW MORE VIEWERS THAN "AMERICAN IDOL" ON A GIVEN NIGHT

"Trace" Trumps Noah Wyle's Return to the "ER"

"Survivor: Panama" Posts Week to-Week Increases

CBS First in Viewers on Thursday

Back in first-run mode following its Olympic hiatus, CSI became the first series since April 2004 to draw more viewers than "American Idol" on a given night, according to Live Plus Same Day National Nielsen ratings for Thursday, March 2.

At 9:00 PM, CSI finished first in households (16.9/25), viewers (27.81m), adults 25-54 (11.4/24), adults 18-49 (9.0/21) and adults 18-34 (6.0/16). CSI becomes the first series to deliver more viewers and a better household rating than any edition of "American Idol" (15.2/23, 26.32m viewers last night) since April 15, 2004.

WITHOUT A TRACE won its time period in households (13.1/21), viewers (19.78m), adults 25-54 (7.5/18) and adults 18-49 (5.9/16). WITHOUT A TRACE beat "ER" by +54% in households (vs. 8.5/14), +2% in adults 18-49 (vs. 5.8/15), +10% in adults 25-54 (vs. 6.8/16) and +6.85m viewers (vs. 12.93m, +53%).

SURVIVOR: PANAMA - EXILE ISLAND was second in its time period, behind "American Idol Thursday" (S) in households (9.2/14), viewers (16.08m), adults 25-54 (6.9/16), adults 18-49 (5.5/14) and adults 18-34 (3.4/10). Compared to last week, SURVIVOR: PANAMA -- EXILE ISLAND is up +10% in households (from 8.4/12), +8% in viewers (from 14.85m), +5% in adults 25-54 (from 6.6/15) and even in adults 18-49.

For the night, CBS was first in households (13.1/20), viewers (21.27m), second in adults 25-54 (8.6/20, -0.1 behind FOX), adults 18-49 (6.8/17) and adults 18-34 (4.4/13).





  [march 2006]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
   


· AMERICAN IDOL (ABC)
· CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION (CBS)
· ER (NBC)
· SURVIVOR (CBS)
· WITHOUT A TRACE (CBS)




most recent ratings | view all posts
[10/28/25 - 02:07 PM]
"Sunday Night Football" on Record Pace Through Week 8, Averaging 24.7 Million Viewers on NBC and Peacock
Packers-Steelers audience peaked at 28.2 million viewers on NBC and Peacock in the second quarter (9:15-9:30 p.m. ET).
[10/28/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of October 20 - "A House of Dynamite" Hits the Target at No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
Plus: "Nobody Wants This," "The Elixir," and "The Monster of Florence" rise to the top in their opening weekends.
[10/27/25 - 12:03 PM]
Second-Most Viewed NBA Opening Week on ESPN Since 2014; "Inside the NBA" Averaged 1M Viewers in Its Opening Week Debut on ESPN
Last week's NBA coverage averaged 2.2 million viewers.
[10/24/25 - 02:54 PM]
ESPN's Third-Most Watched NBA Season-Opening Wednesday Ever
The two-game slate averaged 2.33 million viewers, up 44 percent from last year.
[10/24/25 - 02:02 PM]
"20/20" Is Friday's Most-Watched Newsmagazine Across the Board
In addition, "20/20" posted its best Adults 25-54 in more than four months.
[10/24/25 - 02:01 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 Across the Board, Leading NBC in All Key Demos for the 4th Straight Week
"Nightline" grew year to year across the board: Total Viewers, Adults 25-54, and Adults 18-49.
[10/24/25 - 01:05 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Makes Television History - Rising for Fifth Straight Week
The October 21 episode scored 6.63 million Total Viewers and a 1.38 rating among Adults 18-49, hitting new season highs in both demographics.
[10/23/25 - 02:33 PM]
Largest Audience for "NBA Tip-Off" Doubleheader Since 2010 as NBA Returned to NBC and Debuted on Peacock
Tuesday night's audience across NBC and Peacock peaked at 7.1 million viewers from 10:45-11 p.m. ET as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder to a one-point win over the Houston Rockets in double overtime.
[10/23/25 - 11:28 AM]
"High Potential" Rises to Season High as Show Nears Fall Finale
ABC's popular drama rose to a multiplatform season high in Total Viewers (12.50 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.31 rating) after seven days of viewing on ABC, Hulu, Hulu on Disney+ and digital platforms.
[10/22/25 - 03:06 PM]
FOX Sports Delivers Most-Watched ALCS Game Since 2017
9,028,000 viewers tuned in across FOX, FS1, FOX Deportes & FOX Sports streaming services for the Toronto Blue Jays' ALCS Game 7 victory over the Seattle Mariners.
[10/22/25 - 08:07 AM]
ESPN College Football on ABC Delivers Top Three Games Across All Networks for Saturday, Oct. 18 - Off to Best Start Since '09
Coverage of Ole Miss at Georgia averaged 9.8 million viewers.
[10/22/25 - 08:03 AM]
FOX NFL's America's Game of the Week Delivers 25,630,000 Average Viewers for Commanders-Cowboys
Season-to-date, the NFL on FOX is off to its best start to the season since 2014, averaging 19,646,000 viewers and up +4% over last year's season-to-date average.
[10/22/25 - 07:44 AM]
"9-1-1: Nashville" Debuts with Over 12 Million Total Audience to Date
The star-studded, high-octane first-responder drama delivered 7.80 million Total Viewers and 1.51 rating among Adults 18-49, excluding encores.
[10/22/25 - 06:21 AM]
ABC's Telecast of Formula 1 U.S. Grand Prix Draws Event's Largest TV Audience on Record
Viewership peaked at 1.6 million between 4:15-4:30 p.m. as Max Verstappen drove to victory, further tightening up the battle for the F1 driver's championship with only five races left in the season.
[10/21/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of October 13: "The Woman in Cabin 10" Sails Smoothly to No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
In the final stretch to Halloween, those lured in by the story of the OG horror villain put "Monster: The Ed Gein Story" at No. 1 on the English TV list with 9.5 million views.