Rhune
ForumsNet Administrator
    
 
Gender: 
Posts: 292
|
 |
Finale - Ratings
« on: May 21st, 2002, 10:22am » |
 Quote  Modify
|
Thanks to a nail-biter finale and a Central Park post-party hosted by Rosie O'Donnell, CBS' Survivor: Marquesas scored a first-place ratings victory Sunday--what was seen by many as one of the most competitive nights of TV all season.
Facing opposition by The X-Files (news - Y! TV) series finale, NBC's Cosby Show reunion and a two-hour season-ender for ABC's The Practice, an estimated 25.6 million viewers still tuned in to watch Vecepia "Vee" Towery, the 36-year-old Bible-toting office manager from Oregon, beat out Neleh "Sweet Pea" Dennis to win the $1 million grand prize.
The conclusion easily topped NBC's Cosby Show: A Look Back, but the retrospective still scored an upset for the Peacock, drawing 18.3 million viewers and beating out Fox's series finale of The X-Files (13.8 million). The two-hour episode wrapped up the show's nine-year run with the return of David Duchovny's Agent Fox Mulder, who was tried for murder.
Meanwhile, ABC's two-hour season finale of The Practice followed behind with 13.2 million viewers, according to preliminary numbers. (Final viewer numbers will be released Tuesday.)
All told, Sunday's Survivor viewership was down 6 percent from the 27.3 million who tuned in for January's Survivor: Africa finale, which aired on a Thursday opposite Friends. But the Marquesas finale still gave CBS its largest Sunday night audience since 1997 (excluding the Olympics or Super Bowl), its best ratings among adults 18-49 since 1993 and its best numbers ever for adults 18-34. (Not unexpected, given that CBS Sundays have always been home to such AARP-friendly shows as Touched by an Angel (news - Y! TV)--the time slot even smells like grandma's house.)
The Survivor: Marquesas reunion followed at 10:15 p.m. with a respectable 18.3 million viewers. January's Survivor: Africa reunion audience was virtually identical.
Sunday night's numbers provided more evidence that, while Survivor isn't quite the Super Bowl-sized phenomenon it once was, the show is still a strong performer for CBS. Critics also praised the show's return to its island roots, calling Marquesas the best one since the original.
Next up for CBS--proving whether the fifth time will turn out as well. Survivor: Thailand airs this fall.
|
Sponsored by: The Fans!
Home
Help
Search
Members
Chat
Member Map
Login
Register
Reply
Add Poll
Notify of replies
Send Topic
Print