Back to No. 1, and THANK YOU!

by Rick Porter

Los Angeles, CA -- Fast National ratings for Friday, March 10, 2006

CBS was its usual consistent self Friday in winning the night's ratings battle. NBC, whose new lineup got off to a promising start last week, fell back a little.

For the night, CBS averaged a 7.4 rating/13 share, comfortably beating NBC's 5.9/10. ABC came in third with a 4.5/8. FOX, 3.8/6, was fourth, followed by UPN, 2.4/4, and The WB, 1.7/3.

For the night, CBS averaged a 7.4 rating/13 share, comfortably beating NBC's 5.9/10. ABC came in third with a 4.5/8. FOX, 3.8/6, was fourth, followed by UPN, 2.4/4, and The WB, 1.7/3.

The race among adults 18-49 was closer, with CBS' 3.2 rating edging NBC's 3.0. FOX took third in the demographic with a 2.3, topping ABC's 2.1. UPN averaged 1.3 and The WB 1.0.

"Ghost Whisperer" put CBS on top at 8 p.m. with a 7.3/13. NBC got a 6.4/12 from "Deal or No Deal." A repeat of "America's Funniest Home Videos" was third for ABC, beating out FOX's "Nanny 911," 3.4/6. "Friday Night Smackdown!" posted a 2.3/4 for UPN. The WB trailed with "What I Like About You" and "Living with Fran."

At 9 p.m., "Close to Home" held the lead for CBS with a 7.1/12. "Las Vegas" averaged 5.9/10 for NBC, down a point from last week. FOX moved into third with "Trading Spouses," ahead of ABC's "In Justice," 3.9/6. "Smackdown!" stayed in fifth, while two episodes of "Reba" averaged 1.9/3 for The WB.

"Numb3rs" grabbed the night's biggest rating, 8.0/14, for CBS at 10 p.m. ABC's "20/20" averaged 5.4/9 to edge NBC's "Conviction," 5.3/9.

Ratings information is taken from fast national data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are preliminary and subject to change.

Story: © 2006 Tribune Media Services and Nielsen Media Research, Inc.. All Rights Reserved.
Image: © 2005 Touchstone Television LLC - a Walt Disney Company and Paramount Pictures Corporation - a Viacom Company. All Rights Reserved.