NEW YORK (AP) – An estimated 22.3 million people tuned in to watch swimsuit model Jenna Morasca win the “Survivor” Amazon edition, leading CBS to victory in the prime-time ratings race.

Concluding the sixth game, “Survivor” isn’t the sensation it once was – it had a smaller audience last week than “American Idol” – but it’s still a durable hit for CBS.

After a round of failures, ABC’s “Extreme Makeover” is a modest reality success, enough to win a spot on next fall’s schedule.

Fox’s attempt to hearken to a past success with a 10th year reunion for the graduates in “Beverly Hills, 90210” fell flat last week, barely drawing 7 million viewers.

For the week, CBS averaged 13.7 million viewers (8.7 rating, 15 share). NBC was second with 11.2 million viewers (7.5, 13), but first among the 18-to-49-year-old demographic. Fox had 9.5 million viewers and ABC had 8.8 million (both 5.8, 10), the WB had 4.3 million (2.8, 5), UPN had 3.3 million (2.2, 3) and Pax TV had 1 million (0.7, 1).

NBC’s “Nightly News” won the evening news ratings race, averaging 9.7 million viewers (7.1 rating, 15 share). ABC’s “World News Tonight” was second, averaging 8.8 million viewers (6.4, 13) and the “CBS Evening News” had 7.5 million (5.5, 11).

A ratings point represents 1,067,000 households, or 1 percent of the nation’s estimated 106.7 million TV homes. The share is the percentage of in-use televisions tuned to a given show.

For the week of May 5-11, the top 10 shows, their networks and viewerships: “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” CBS, 25.1 million; “American Idol” (Wednesday), Fox, 22.7 million; “Survivor: Amazon Finale,” CBS, 22.3 million; “American Idol” (Tuesday), Fox, 22.2 million; “ER,” NBC, 22 million; “Everybody Loves Raymond,” CBS, 19.6 million; “Friends,” NBC, 19.6 million; “Survivor: Amazon,” CBS, 19 million; “Friends” special, NBC, 19 million; “Survivor: Amazon Reunion,” CBS, 17.6 million.



On the Net:

Nielsen Media Research Web site:

http://www.nielsenmedia.com.

AP-ES-05-13-03 1535EDT



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