Just as last week, Dancing With the Stars took the top spot for average viewers for the week of September 29 – October 5, with an average audience of 18.883 million. At #2, NCIS was again CBS’s most-watched show with 17.47 million viewers. Helped by a football overrun on Sunday, 60 Minutes came in at #3 with 16.648 million.
Rounding out the top 10 were Desperate Housewives, the Dancing with the Stars Results show, The Mentalist, CSI:NY, Criminal Minds, CSI:Miami, and NBC Sunday Night Football. I will cross reference with 18-49 demo results later when I have them up. Check back.
CBS lead with 11 of the top 20 shows for audience size, ABC had 5 shows in this top 20, NBC had 3, and Fox just 1. Those totals will be a bit different in the demo 18-49 adults ranking that I should have up soon.
Nielsen Top Twenty Shows by viewers for the week ending 10/5/08:
| Rank | Programs | Network | Viewers Live+SD (000) | HH RATING (LIVE+SD) | HH SHARE (LIVE+SD) | # OF HOMES (LIVE+SD) (000) |
| 1 | DANCING WITH THE STARS | ABC | 18,883 | 12.2 | 18 | 14,020 |
| 2 | NCIS | CBS | 17,470 | 11.0 | 17 | 12,545 |
| 3 | 60 MINUTES | CBS | 16,648 | 10.5 | 17 | 11,973 |
| 4 | DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES | ABC | 15,685 | 10.0 | 15 | 11,501 |
| 5 | DANCING W/STARS RESULTS | ABC | 15,491 | 10.2 | 15 | 11,629 |
| 6 | THE MENTALIST | CBS | 15,484 | 9.8 | 15 | 11,175 |
| 7 | CSI: NY | CBS | 14,878 | 9.6 | 16 | 10,935 |
| 8 | CRIMINAL MINDS | CBS | 14,780 | 9.5 | 15 | 10,832 |
| 9 | CSI: MIAMI | CBS | 14,345 | 9.2 | 15 | 10,493 |
| 10 | NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL | NBC | 14,207 | 8.8 | 14 | 10,115 |
| 11 | TWO AND A HALF MEN | CBS | 13,577 | 8.4 | 12 | 9,596 |
| 12 | SURVIVOR: GABON | CBS | 13,076 | 7.7 | 12 | 8,849 |
| 13 | HOUSE | FOX | 12,978 | 7.8 | 12 | 8,959 |
| 14 | AMERICA’S GOT TALENT-WED | NBC | 12,693 | 7.8 | 12 | 8,898 |
| 15 | WITHOUT A TRACE | CBS | 12,611 | 8.4 | 14 | 9,626 |
| 16 | EXTREME MAKEOVER:HM ED-8P | ABC | 11,832 | 7.2 | 11 | 8,212 |
| 17 | COLD CASE | CBS | 11,095 | 7.1 | 11 | 8,102 |
| 18 | AMAZING RACE 13 | CBS | 10,999 | 6.6 | 10 | 7,612 |
| 19 | LAW AND ORDER:SVU | NBC | 10,391 | 7.0 | 12 | 7,975 |
| 20 | BROTHERS & SISTERS | ABC | 10,326 | 6.9 | 11 | 7,941 |
Nielsen Ratings Data: ©2008 The Nielsen Company. All Rights Reserved
All numbers above based on Live+Same Day (LIVE+SD) DVR viewing.
Time Shifted Viewing – Program ratings for national sources are produced in three streams of data – Live, Live + Same Day (Live+SD) and Live + 7 Day. Time shifted figures account for incremental viewing that takes place with DVRs which are currently in approximately 24.4% of all U.S. TV households. Live + Same Day include viewing during the same broadcast day as the original telecast, with a cut-off of 3:00AM local time when meters transmit daily viewing to Nielsen for processing. Live+ 7 Day ratings include incremental viewing that takes place during the 7 days following a telecast.
I don’t watch any of these shows. Not one.
I watch Survivor and Amazing Race and that’s it. And I consider myself somewhat of a tv junkie. I don’t even know anyone who watches most of that stuff, I guess mostly the elderly…
Nope, some of us the young one also watch some of those shows, Criminal Minds, NCIS, CSI:NY, Without a Trace, Two and a Half Men, House.
On another note, CBS is having lots of success with its crime drama. No wonder they have so many.
NCIS and CSI:NY seem to be peaking this season in terms of total viewers. It’s great to see the amazing race in the 20. It’s my favorite show on broadcast network tv.
I’m 21 years old and from this list I watch: DANCING W/ THE STARS, 60 MINUTES, DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES, TWO AND A HALF MEN, AND COLD CASE.I used to watch HOUSE but I hate the new characters, and now I refuse to watch it.
WHO WATCHES NCIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, I don’t understand how it gets those numbers. I don’t know anyone who watches that show. That show is so lame. I really tried to watch it so many times, but I just hate it. Boring and annoying characters…
I know lots a people who watch NCIS. Every person I’ve introduced to NCIS has gotten hooked(all college friends).
NCIS is great. i’m suprised its 18-49 shares are so low, here in australia its demos are great consistently in the top 5 shows of the 16-39 demo and 18-49 demo on the night it airs. It also airs in the most compeditative timeslot on tv
Where’s Heroes?
Heroes wasn’t in the top 20 for viewers, it finished #25 for the week.
But it was #5 for adults 18-49, where it really matters.
Heroes didn’t get enough viewers to make the list.
Pisses me off that shit shows like NCIS and Two and a half men get better ratings than an awesome show like Heroes; WTF??? God all my friends like it; i don’t get why no-one is watching season three. Its not as good as season 1 but its still bad ass
Fin stupid dude, if the programs are in the list is because THEY DO HAVE VIEWERS, opposite to lame Heroes. And u wonder why all your friends like it? that’s because they are as lame as you are. U know why no one is watching season 3? because it sux big time now. I used to watch that show but only until season 1, then sux’d hard. I do not watch NCIS but i do watch TAHM