CBS 'sweeps' NBC under rug for Nov.

by Gloria Diaz
Arts & Entertainment Editor

After a heated battle over viewers, CBS has managed to squeeze by NBC to win the most important race of the television season: November sweeps. ABC maintained a strong third place finish.

Numbers released on Nov. 27 by the Associated Press showed CBS squeaking by NBC with an average of 13.35 million viewers, with NBC close behind with 13.20 million viewers.

Throughout the season, "Friends" and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" have battled for the top spot in the weekly Nielsen ratings war. "Friends" came out the victor finally knocking "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" for the first time in a month, according to the Associated Press.

Both CBS and NBC have averaged about the same amount of viewers each week, about 13 million last week, making this the closest race between the two networks in eight years.

For the last week of sweeps, NBC can claim a win as two of its shows, "Friends" and "ER," having 17 million and 16.5 million viewers respectively.

While CBS is the more conservative network, it was able to let its hair down to compete with NBC when it unveiled the "Victoria's Secret Fashion Show" for all to see. There was enough skin in the first 30 seconds of the show to rival NYPD Blue love scenes.

To please its more traditional viewers, the network turned to the Country Music Awards special, which showcased some of country's biggest name like Faith Hill and Shania Twain.

NBC made several sweeps attempts to make sure that it would at least win the eyes and ears of the 18-39 age group. Audiences tuned in to watch the wedding on "Will & Grace," between Grace and a doctor (Harry Connick Jr.) in the show's 100th episode, which also brought "ER" high ratings.

There were some misses that NBC tried as it revisited the classic hit horror film of Stephen King's "Carrie," which tanked in the ratings.

Although much of the attention surrounds NBC and CBS, the other networks who also tried their best to lure viewers into their television realm must not be forgotten.

ABC brought out another season of "The Bachelor" which gained third place in the Nielsen ratings for Nov. 18-24. It helped gain high numbers for the "George Lopez Show," which saw its highest ratings yet.

Another attempt by ABC was the real- life based movie of the nine Pennsylvania coal miners who were trapped in a mine for three days.

Fox saw high numbers with the late season premiere of "The Simpsons," as it had its highest ratings since March 2001, according to the Los Angeles Times. But viewership did drop sharply for "King of the Hill" and "Malcolm in the Middle."

To win sweeps, CBS finally appealed to the viewers it has been trying to get for years; the 18-49 age group with the "Victoria Secret Fashion Show." Although "The Bachelor" was able to trounce the fashion show to get the No. 3 spot, according to the Associated Press.

There were no specials that the networks pulled out, they relied on their regular series' to get them the ratings they needed.

But there were some music specials from famous names like Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, U2, Paul McCartney and the late Elvis over Thanksgiving weekend, that led to one last hoorah from the networks.

The highest rated show in that fight was Faith Hill "When the Lights Go Down" and Elvis "Elvis Lives" both on NBC, with 11 million viewers each, according to Access Hollywood.

For the week of Nov. 18-24, NBC dominated the top ten shows in the Nielsen's. Six of its shows were on that list, CBS had only two.

Sweeps brought some enjoyable viewing experiences along with some spice in its long running shows to keep viewers watching.