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NEW YORK (AP) – Three different shows produced by the same man – Jerry Bruckheimer – were the three most-watched programs on prime-time television last week.

All three shows, “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” “Without a Trace” and “CSI: Miami,” were on CBS, which easily won the week’s ratings race.

A fourth Bruckheimer show, “Cold Case,” was ranked ninth for the week.

“CSI” is television’s most popular show,” and the other two chart leaders are usually in or around the top 10. “Without a Trace” moved up last week because it aired an original episode against a repeat of “ER” on NBC.

Paris Hilton’s “The Simple Life” has quickly become Fox’s most popular show. It was seen by just under 12 million people last week, meaning it was viewed more than an interview with President Bush that aired at the same time on ABC, according to Nielsen Media Research.

CBS averaged 12.4 million viewers (8.0 rating, 13 share). But since nearly two-thirds of CBS’ audience was outside of the 18-to-49-year-old age demographic, that key measurement was won by NBC.

NBC averaged 9.8 million people overall (6.4, 11), ABC had 8.8 million (5.9, 10), Fox 7.4 million (4.7, 8), UPN 3.4 million (2.3, 4), the WB 3 million (2.0, 3) and Pax TV 1 million (0.7, 1).

NBC’s “Nightly News” won the evening news ratings race, averaging 11.8 million viewers (7.9 rating, 15 share). ABC’s “World News Tonight” had 10.5 million (7.3, 14) and the “CBS Evening News” had 8.5 million (5.9, 11).

After a delay, Nielsen released viewership figures for Sunday shows on Dec. 14, the day after Saddam Hussein’s capture. NBC’s “Meet the Press” was seen by 6.9 million people, ABC’s “This Week” had 4.6 million viewers and “Fox News Sunday” had 2.6 million. CBS’ “Face the Nation” was pre-empted.

A ratings point represents 1,084,000 households, or 1 percent of the nation’s estimated 108.4 million TV homes. The share is the percentage of in-use televisions tuned to a given show.

For the week of Dec. 15-21, the top 10 shows, their networks and viewerships: “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” CBS, 24.7 million; “Without a Trace,” CBS, 19.4 million; “CSI: Miami,” 19.2 million; “NFL Monday Night Football: Philadelphia at Miami,” ABC, 18.8 million; “Everybody Loves Raymond,” CBS, 18.1 million; “Two and a Half Men,” CBS, 14.8 million; “NFL Monday Showcase,” ABC, 14.3 million; “Cold Case,” CBS, 14 million; “Primetime Special Edition,” ABC, 13.9 million.



On the Net:

http://www.nielsenmedia.com.

AP-ES-12-23-03 1600EST


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