CBS repeats take Monday
Network wins holiday weekend with encores
According to preliminary nationals from Nielsen, CBS was the top-rated broadcaster from 8 to 10 p.m. with encore telecasts of "The Big Bang Theory" (2.0 rating/6 share in adults 18-49, 6.4 million viewers overall), "How I Met Your Mother" (2.3/7 in 18-49, 6.7 million viewers overall), "Two and a Half Men" (3.3/8 in 18-49, 10.7 million viewers overall) and "Rules of Engagement" (2.8/7 in 18-49, 8.4 million viewers overall), with "Men" expected to stand as the night's top-rated program.
Elsewhere, ABC started slowly with the special "Vacation Swap" (1.5/4 in 18-49, 4.7 million viewers overall) before picking up some from 9 to 11 p.m. with "The Bachelorette" (2.0/5 in 18-49, 5.5 million viewers overall); latter delivered its lowest score to date and was down sharply from its premiere of the previous week, when it had a much stronger lead-in courtesy of "Dancing With the Stars." Although not a great number, "The Bachelorette" did grow with each half-hour and it did rank as the top broadcaster in the 10 o'clock hour (2.2/6 in 18-49), besting a repeat of "CSI: Miami" on CBS (2.0/5 in 18-49, 7.1 million viewers overall).
NBC's 90-minute "American Gladiators" (1.9/5 in 18-49, 5.2 million viewers overall) rallied some from its series low of the previous week but continues to perform modestly, while the net didn't do much the rest of the evening with "Dateline" from 9:30 to 11 (1.6/4 in 18-49, 5.2 million viewers overall).
Fox was competitive with a repeat of last Thursday's two-hour season premiere of "So You Think You Can Dance?" (1.8/5 in 18-49, 4.9 million viewers overall).
Early estimates were not available Tuesday for ESPN's coverage of the NBA playoff game between Detroit and Boston, though it's expected to outrate all programming on the night on ABC, NBC and Fox.
Preliminary 18-49 averages for the night: CBS, 2.4/7; ABC, 1.9/5; Fox, 1.8/5; NBC, 1.7/5; CW, 0.5/1.
In total viewers: CBS, 7.7 million; ABC and NBC, 5.2 million; Fox, 4.9 million; CW, 1.3 million.
