Defying tough competition, CBS's NCIS emerged as the most-watched television show last week, beating such rivals as NBC's Sunday Night Football, ABC's Dancing With The Stars and CBS's Two and a Half Men . The long-running drama landed 18.98 million viewers, two million more than its closest rival, ABC's performance telecast of Dancing. Indeed, second place turned out to be a virtual tie between Dancing' s Monday and Tuesday shows, Sunday's football matchup between Minnesota and Chicago, and and CBS's Two and a Half Men , each of which attracted between 16.2 million and 16.8 million viewers. NCIS 's companion show, NCIS Los Angeles , was no slouch, either, drawing 15.4 million viewers. Among the nightly newscasts, NBC Nightly News with Britain Williams once again led the list with 8.04 million viewers, chased by ABC World News with Diane Sawyer with 7.52 million. The CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley trailed with 5.49 million. For the week, CBS remained well ahead in total viewers with a 6.7 household rating and an 11 share. ABC and Fox tied for second with a 5.5/9, while NBC trailed with a 4.1/7.

The top ten shows of the week according to Nielsen Research 1. NCIS, CBS, 11.7/18; 2. Dancing with the Stars (Monday), ABC, 11.2/16; 3. Dancing with the Stars (Tuesday), ABC, 110./16; 4. Sunday Night Football, NBC, 10.1/16; 5. Two and a Half Men, CBS, 9.7/14; 6. NCIS Los Angeles, CBS, 9.4/14; 7. Sunday Night NFL Pre-Kickoff, NBC, 8.8/14; 8. The Big Bang Theory, CBS, 8.3/14; 9. Criminal Minds, CBS, 8.1/12; 10. Modern Family, ABC, 8.0/12.

19/10/2011