A 13 share unluckly number for a lucky TV series, but there's still more to go before the pick-up from CBS......

A fairly strong opening for "Ghost Whisperer" and the return of "Numb3rs" led CBS to a ratings win on the first Friday of the season.

CBS averaged a 6.7 rating/12 share in primetime, beating NBC, 5.6/10, by a fairly comfortable margin. ABC took third at 4.7/8, while FOX and UPN tied for fourth at 3.0/5. The WB trailed with a 1.8/3.

Among adults 18-49, CBS' 2.8 rating was tops, followed by ABC, 2.4, and NBC, 2.3. FOX finished fourth in the demographic at 1.7, edging UPN's 1.6. The WB averaged 1.2.

The premiere of "Ghost Whisperer," starring Jennifer Love Hewitt as a woman who sees dead people, posted a 7.3/13 for CBS at 8 p.m. NBC came in second with "Dateline," 6.3/11. The season premiere of "Supernanny" posted a 3.9/7 for ABC to finish third, ahead of "Friday Night Smackdown!" on UPN. The hour-long season premiere of "The Bernie Mac Show" on FOX was fifth at 2.6/5. The WB went with "What I Like About You" and "Twins."

NBC took the lead at 9 p.m. with the debut of the do-gooding unscripted series "Three Wishes," 6.1/11. CBS dropped to second with "Threshold," 5.6/10, while a second hour of "Supernanny" improved to 4.7/8 on ABC. FOX moved up to fourth with the premiere of "Killer Instinct," 3.5/6. "Smackdown!" was fifth, beating The WB's "Reba" and "Living with Fran."

At 10 p.m., the second-season premiere of "Numb3rs" scored a 7.0/13 for CBS. ABC's "20/20" was second at 5.7/10. The premiere of fertility-clinic drama "Inconceivable" didn't do much for NBC, coming in at 4.5/8.

Ratings information is taken from fast national data. All numbers are preliminary and subject to change.

Story: © 2005 Tribune Media Services. All Rights Reserved.
Image: © 2005 Touchstone Television LLC - a Walt Disney Company. All Rights Reserved.