September 28, 2007--With "CSI," "Survivor," and "Without a Trace," CBS captured the opening Thursday of the TV season, according to Nielsen nationals. CBS edged out ABC among adults 18-49 while winning rather comfortably among adults 25-54 and total viewers. NBC's "The Office" also opened the season strong, while ABC did OK with new drama "Big Shots."
Although ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" (8.8 rating/21 share in adults 18-49, 20.9 million viewers overall from 9 to 10:02 p.m.) remained the night's No. 1 program among adults 18-49, "CSI" (8.0/19 in 18-49, 24.8 million viewers overall) scored a rare victory over the medical drama in adults 25-54 (9.7/21 to 9.1/20) and was easily the night's most-watched program overall -- rising in all key categories from its year-ago premiere.
"Grey's Anatomy" was down 20% from last year's premiere and delivered one of its lowest firstrun Thursday scores. Still, it stands as premiere week's No. 1 premiere in adults 18-49, with "CSI" edging out Fox's "House" for the No. 2 spot.
NBC did well with the one-hour season premiere of "The Office" (5.1/12 in 18-49, 9.7 million viewers overall), which matched its series high in 18-49 and was up nearly 10% year-to-year despite moving to a more competitive timeslot.
CBS "Survivor" won to open the night (4.6/13 in 18-49, 14.2 million viewers overall) despite tumbling more than 25% year-to-year. ABC's second-place "Ugly Betty" (3.8/11 in 18-49, 11.0 million viewers overall) was off more than 20% itself, although this year's premiere was the show's best average since February. NBC was on ABC's heels with the one-hour premiere of "My Name Is Earl" (3.7/11 in 18-49, 8.5 million viewers overall), which was on par with its year-ago half-hour opener.
CBS triumphed with the 10pm return of "Without a Trace" (4.8/13 in 18-49, 16.7 million viewers overall), which was up more than 15% from last year's debut of "Shark" in the time period. ABC ran a competitive second in the hour with the series premiere of "Big Shots" (projected 4.5/12 in 18-49, 11.0 million viewers overall), although the drama lost about 1 ratings point in the 10:30 half-hour. NBC's "ER" (4.1/11 in 18-49, 9.9 million viewers overall) ran third, off nearly 40% from its year-ago debut.
Fox did below OK with reality entries "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader" (2.0/6 in 18-49, 7.4 million viewers overall) and "Don't Forget the Lyrics" (1.8/4 in 18-49, 5.4 million viewers overall), while CW's "Smallville" was solid in kicking off its season at 8 (1.9/6 in 18-49, 5.1 million viewers overall).
In total viewers: CBS, 18.6 million; ABC, 14.4 million; NBC, 9.4 million; Fox, 6.4 million; CW and Univision, 3.8 million.
