LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - CBS went into the Nielsen stratosphere Thursday with more than 30 million viewers turning out two-hour fifth season finale of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" directed by Quentin Tarantino.
The "CSI" landslide made it an uphill climb for the 9 p.m. finale of NBC's "The Apprentice," which brought in 13.7 million viewers and 6.1 rating/15 share in the adults 18-49 demographic, according to preliminary estimates from Nielsen Media Research.
The 8-10 p.m. airing of "CSI" averaged 30.1 million viewers and a 10.4/28 in the key demo; viewership peaked in the final half-hour at 35.1 million viewers and 12.8/30 in the demo.
At 10 p.m., however, NBC's veteran "ER" (18.6 million, 8.6/22) pulled off an amazing feat in pulling ahead of CBS' "Without a Trace" (21.9 million, 7.0/18) in the adults 18-49 demo with a heart-tugging season 11th season finale that marked the final appearance of original cast member Noah Wyle.
Between the NBC and CBS finales, there wasn't much audience left over for anyone else, though Fox did much better than it usually does in the 9 p.m. hour with a special "American Idol: International Best of the Worst" (8.8 million, 4.0/10).
For the night, it was CBS by a mile with an average of 27.3 million viewers and 9.2/24 in adults 18-49.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter | 
05-21-2005, 12:21 PM
