Nielsen Ratings

America has football fever and the networks couldn't be happier. The top three programs in last week's Nielsen ratings were all gridiron-related, with the post-game show for the New York Giants' win over the Dallas Cowboys pacing the field with 32.5 million viewers. For the first time in recent memory, the New England Patriots didn't win something -- their victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars took second place, earning just shy of 30 million viewers. Meanwhile, the college football national championship between Ohio State and LSU landed in third place.

Elsewhere in last week's Nielsens:

* We don't know if it's a really good show of if the public is just starved for new programming, but Fox's Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles debuted in fourth place with more than 18 million viewers. On the other hand..,

* The premiere of ABC's Cashmere Mafia proved the public may not be all that hungry for new shows. It only scored 6.2 million viewers.

CBS was the top-rated network for the week, followed by Fox, NBC, ABC, Univision, the CW, My Network TV and Telemundo.

Here are the top 10 primetime programs for the week of Monday, January 7th-Sunday, January 13th:

1. Fox NFC Playoff: New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys Post-Game (Sunday), Fox, 32.51 million viewers.

2. AFC Divisional Playoff: Jacksonville Jaguars at New England Patriots, CBS, 30.90 million viewers.

3. Allstate BCS National Championship, Fox, 23.07 million viewers.

4. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Fox, 18.36 million viewers.

5. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CBS, 18.19 million viewers.

6. Grey's Anatomy (Thursday), ABC, 17.68 million viewers.

7. Comanche Moon 1, CBS, 15.76 million viewers.

8. Law & Order: Special Victim's Unit, 15.15 million viewers.

9. Criminal Minds, CBS, 14.30 million viewers.

10. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (Sunday), ABC, 14 million viewers.

Hey, you are starting to SAG...

Prospects for a Grammy Awards broadcast this year are looking worse because of the ongoing writers' strike. Yesterday, the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences announced that they'd filed a formal request for a waiver with the Writers Guild, and the union again said yesterday that the request is unlikely to be granted. Still, ARAS President NEIL PORTNOW said the academy, quote, "remains hopeful that there will be a quick and positive response."

The Screen Actors Guild has said it probably won't cross the picket line should writers protest the Grammys. Several musicians are SAG members, meaning they'd likely honor the picket, while other musicians are likely to avoid crossing the picket out of sympathy for the writers' cause.

As of now, The Grammy Awards are still scheduled to take place February 10th, and air on CBS-TV. However, no performers or presenters have been announced yet.

Better news for next month's NAACP Image Awards: the Guild has granted them a waiver. WGA West President PATRIC VERRONE explained yesterday, quote, "Because of the historic role the NAACP has played in struggles like ours, we think this decision is appropriate to jointly achieve out goals."

TV Tonight (1/14)

ABC: Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann (NEW), Notes From the Underbelly (NEW), October Road (NEW)

CBS: How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, Rules of Engagement, CSI: Miami (NEW)

NBC: American Gladiators (NEW), Deal or No Deal (NEW), Medium (NEW)

FOX: Prison Break (NEW), Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (NEW)

CW: Everybody Hates Chris, Aliens in America, Girlfriends, The Game

Courtesy Dave Kent @ The New 93.9 KISS FM, Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill NC!

Get your local listings HERE

TV This Weekend

Friday

ABC: Grey's Anatomy, Cashmere Mafia, 20/20 (NEW)

CBS: Ghost Whisperer (NEW), Moonlight (NEW), Numbers (NEW)

NBC: 1 vs. 100 (NEW), Friday Night Lights (NEW), Las Vegas (NEW)

FOX: Bones, House

CW: WWE Friday Night Smackdown

Saturday

ABC: Pearl Harbor (2001)

CBS: Football: Jacksonville vs. New England

NBC: Dateline (NEW)

FOX: Cops (1hr), America's Most Wanted

Sunday

ABC: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (repeat), Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (NEW), Brothers & Sisters (NEW)

CBS: The Amazing Race 12 (NEW), Comanche Moon (NEW)

NBC: Dateline (NEW), Golden Globe (press conference style), American Gladiators

FOX: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (NEW), Family Guy (NEW), American Dad (NEW)

CW: Life is Wild (NEW), Crowned: The Mother of All Pageants

Courtesy Dave Kent @ The New 93.9 KISS FM, Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill NC!

Get your local listings HERE

TV Tonight (1/10)

ABC: Ugly Betty (NEW), Grey's Anatomy (NEW), Big Shots (NEW)

CBS: CSI: NY, CSI (NEW), Without a Trace (NEW)

NBC: My Name is Earl (NEW), 30 Rock (NEW), The Celebrity Apprentice (NEW), ER (NEW)

FOX: Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (NEW), Don't Forget the Lyrics (NEW)

CW: Smallville, Supernatural

Courtesy Dave Kent @ The New 93.9 KISS FM, Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill NC!

Get your local listings HERE

TV Tonight (1/9)

ABC: Wife Swap (NEW), Supernanny (NEW), Cashmere Mafia (NEW)

CBS: Power of 10 (NEW), Criminal Minds (NEW), CSI: NY (NEW)

NBC: Deal or No Deal (NEW), Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order (NEW)

FOX: Back to You, Back to You, 'Til Death

CW: Crowned: The Mother of all Pageants (NEW), Gossip Girl (NEW)

Courtesy Dave Kent @ The New 93.9 KISS FM, Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill NC!

Get your local listings HERE

TV Crap

FX will dig up more Dirt in March. The second season of the drama, starring COURTENEY COX as a tabloid editor, will begin on March 2nd, though only seven new episodes are in the can because of the writers' strike...

Big Brother will again watch over Showtime when it premieres next month. A live feed from the Big Brother house will air nightly on the SHO2 multiplex channel beginning on February 12th, the same day Big Brother returns on CBS. Showtime's three-hour broadcast of Big Brother: After Dark will air at midnight Eastern time...

The Coreys are coming back to A&E. The Hollywood Reporter says the cable network has picked up the reality series The Two Coreys, starring COREY HAIM and COREY FELDMAN, for a second season. The '80s stars had a falling out, and the new episodes will document whether they can kiss and make up. The Two Coreys could return in the spring...

Hey...Rate This!

NBC scored a ratings victory last week with its Saturday coverage of the NFL playoffs. The most-watched primetime broadcast of the week was the Jacksonville Jaguars' opening-round win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, with 25.74 million viewers.

ABC's Desperate Housewives was the only non-sports program to enter the Nielsen's top five. Nearly 20 million people watched the follow-up to the show's tornado cliffhanger, which for now stands as the final episode of the season, unless the writers' strike is resolved in the near future.

NBC had a solid week of premieres, led by the return of Law & Order last Wednesday night. The first episode of the drama's 18th season was seen by 13.46 million viewers. Twelve million people toughed out the Sunday-night debut of American Gladiators, while DONALD TRUMP's Celebrity Apprentice welcomed 11 million viewers into the boardroom last Thursday.

NBC won the primetime ratings race for the week, followed by CBS, Fox, ABC, the CW, MyNetworkTV, and ION Television.

Here are the top 10 primetime programs for the week of December 31st-January 6th, according to Nielsen Media Research:

1. NFL Playoff Game 2: Jacksonville at Pittsburgh, NBC, 25.74 million viewers.

2. NFL Playoff Pre-Kick, NBC, 23.87 million viewers.

3. NFL Playoff Bridge, NBC, 23.48 million viewers.

4. AFC Wildcard Post Game, CBS, 21.37 million viewers.

5. Desperate Housewives, ABC, 19.78 million viewers.

6. 60 Minutes, CBS, 18.25 million viewers.

7. Law & Order, NBC, 13.46 million viewers.

8. Deal or No Deal (Thursday), NBC, 13.41 million viewers.

9. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CBS, 13.25 million viewers.

10. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, ABC, 12.6 million viewers

The People have spoken...

The People's Choice Awards used a more laid-back approach last night in announcing the winners on the CBS telecast. Because of the writers' strike, the event opted for a pre-taped show -- organizers dubbed it a "magazine" format -- in which honorees accepted their awards from movie sets or other locations. The strike was referenced several times on the broadcast, including in an acceptance speech from a silent JOAQUIN PHOENIX, who instead used cue cards to give thanks. Some winners also answered questions sent in by fans.

Ten million people voted for the People's Choice Awards, which honored the public's favorites in music, movies and television. QUEEN LATIFAH hosted the two-hour CBS broadcast.Here's a complete list of winners for the 34th annual People's Choice Awards:

TV

Female TV Star: Katherine Heigl

Male TV Star: Patrick Dempsey

Talk Show Host: Ellen DeGeneres

Scene Stealer: Chandra Wilson

TV Drama: House

TV Comedy: Two and a Half Men

Reality Show: Dancing With the Stars

Game Show: Deal or No Deal

Sci-fi Show: Stargate Atlantis

Animated TV Show: The Simpsons

TV Tonight (1/8)

ABC: Just for Laughs (NEW) (1hr), According to Jim (NEW), Carpoolers (NEW), Cashmere Mafia

CBS: NCIS, People's Choice Awards (NEW)

NBC: The Biggest Loser: Couples (NEW), Law & Order (NEW)

FOX: Bones, House

CW: One Tree Hill (NEW), One Tree Hill (NEW)

Courtesy Dave Kent @ The New 93.9 KISS FM, Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill NC!

Get your local listings HERE

TV Potpourri

Showtime's hit series Dexter is moving to the CBS Television Network. Well, sort of. The series, which stars MICHAEL C. HALL as a police forensics examiner who moonlights as a serial killer, just wrapped up its second season on Showtime. Beginning Sunday, February 17th, CBS -- which owns Showtime -- will air all 12 episodes of Dexter's first season. It replaces the JAMES WOODS legal drama Shark, which will return later in the year. This marks the first time a full season of a top cable drama series will be shown on network television. It's yet another programming move by a TV network anxious for fresh shows in the face of the ongoing writers strike...

There could be another Mole sighting on ABC this summer, thanks to the continued scramble for new content as the WGA strike wears on. According to Variety, ABC is resurrecting the reality series, even though it hasn't aired in four years. However, the new edition will not feature celebrities, as the previous two seasons had. CNN's ANDERSON COOPER and TV personality AHMAD RASHAD, who each hosted two seasons of the show, aren't expected to return...

Then there's the People's Choice...

The 34th annual People's Choice Awards will present a new format tonight on CBS. Much like the Golden Globes, the event was forced to shake things up due to the ongoing writers' strike, announcing last month that winners would pre-record their acceptance speeches. The ceremony, which has now been dubbed a "magazine show," also solicited questions from fans to be answered by nominees. QUEEN LATIFAH is slated to host the telecast.

The People's Choice Whatever-They-Are broadcast, honoring fan favorites in music, movies and TV, airs on CBS tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern time.

TV This Weekend

FRIDAY

ABC: Grey's Anatomy, Women's Murder Club (NEW), 20/20 (NEW)

CBS: Ghost Whisperer, Moonlight, Numbers

NBC: 1 vs. 100 (NEW), Friday Night Lights (NEW), Las Vegas (NEW)

FOX: Bones, House CW: WWE Friday Night Smackdown!

SATURDAY

ABC: Presidential Debate

CBS: High Crimes (2002), 48 Hrs Mystery (NEW)

NBC: NFL: Jacksonville vs Pittsburgh

FOX: Cops (1hr), America's Most Wanted

SUNDAY

ABC: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (NEW), Desperate Housewives (NEW), Cashmere Mafia (NEW-Pilot)

CBS: 60 Minutes, The Amazing Race (NEW), Cold Case (NEW), Shark (NEW)

NBC: Deal or No Deal (NEW), American Gladiators (NEW)

FOX: The Simpsons (NEW), King of the Hill (NEW), Family Guy, American Dad (NEW)

CW: Life is Wild (NEW), crowned: The Mother of all Pageants

Courtesy Dave Kent @ The New 93.9 KISS FM, Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill NC!

and thanks Dave for the Pics!

Get your local listings HERE

Nielsen Ratings

No writers? No problem for JAY LENO, at least on Wednesday night, when several major late-night TV shows ended an eight-week hiatus brought on by the writers' strike. Seven-point-two million viewers watched Leno on NBC's Tonight Show, which secured a comfortable victory over DAVID LETTERMAN and CBS' Late Show, despite Letterman's returning writing staff, thanks to a separate agreement with the Writers Guild of America.

The newly-bearded Letterman was seen by 5.5 million viewers. NBC's CONAN O'BRIEN was more popular with viewers than CBS' CRAIG FERGUSON later in the night, even though he also was without his writers. O'Brien and Late Night attracted 2.8 million viewers, while 2.2 million people watched Ferguson and Late Late Show. Ferguson went back on the air with his writers under the same agreement made by Letterman's production company.

The country was certainly curious to see how these hosts would respond to the ongoing strike. Leno, Letterman, O'Brien and Ferguson all saw a spike in ratings in comparison to their pre-strike averages, with The Tonight Show enjoying a 43-percent increase.

In other Nielsens news, the NFL regular season ended with a bang last weekend. Most notably, the New England Patriots' victory over the New York Giants Saturday night was seen by 34.5 million people. The NFL Network's telecast of the game, in which the Patriots became the first team in 35 years to finish a regular season undefeated, was simulcast on NBC and CBS.

CBS won the primetime ratings race last week, followed by NBC, Fox, ABC, the CW, MyNetworkTV and ION Television.

Here are the top 10 primetime programs for the week of December 24th-30th, according to Nielsen Media Research:

1. NBC Sunday Night Football: Tennessee at Indianapolis, NBC, 15.8 million viewers.

2. NFL Football: New England at N.Y. Giants, CBS, 15.68 million viewers.

3. NFL Football: New England at N.Y. Giants, NBC, 13.23 million viewers.

4. 60 Minutes, CBS, 12.39 million viewers.

5. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CBS, 10.69 million viewers.

6. Without a Trace, CBS, 10.54 million viewers.

7. Sunday Night NFL Pre-Kick, NBC, 10.38 million viewers.

8. Deal Or No Deal, (Tuesday) NBC, 9.78 million viewers.

9. Amazing Race 12, CBS, 9.69 million viewers.

10. CSI: NY, (Thursday) CBS, 9.49 million viewers.

TV Tonight (1/2)

ABC: Wife Swap (NEW), Supernanny (NEW), Supernanny (NEW)

CBS: Power of 10 (NEW), Criminal Minds, CSI: NY

NBC: Deal or no Deal (NEW), Law & Order (RETURN)

FOX: Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma vs. W. Virginia

CW: Crowned: The Mother of All Pageants (NEW), Gossip Girl (NEW)

Courtesy Dave Kent @ The New 93.9 KISS FM, Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill NC!

Get your local listings HERE

They're Back! Part Deux

Several late-night hosts will celebrate the New Year tonight with new episodes, their first since the writers' strike began nearly two months ago. NBC's JAY LENO and CONAN O'BRIEN, CBS' DAVID LETTERMAN and CRAIG FERGUSON, and ABC's JIMMY KIMMEL will all make their return tonight.

Letterman and Ferguson will hold a competitive advantage over the other hosts. Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants, which owns both Late Show and Ferguson's Late Late Show, reached a deal with the Writers Guild of America last week, clearing the way for their writing staffs to return to the job. Leno, O'Brien and Kimmel will have to make do without their writers until the strike is resolved, or NBC elects to secure its own deal.

One early sign that the pact will benefit Letterman and Ferguson: the Screen Actors Guild said its members are now open to appearing on the CBS late-night programs. The WGA has announced that they'll be picketing Leno's L.A. studios and Conan's New York studios, meaning any guests booked on those shows would have to cross a picket line to do so.

Many stars have shown their solidarity with the writers since the strike began on November 5th. Letterman has already lined up one actor for tonight's show: ROBIN WILLIAMS, who will appear along with country musician SHOOTER JENNINGS. Leno's The Tonight Show will welcome Republican presidential candidate MIKE HUCKABEE tonight, while the other late-night shows had yet to announce their guests as of yesterday.

The major late-night shows have aired reruns in the last two months, with NBC's CARSON DALY having resumed production on Last Call about a month ago. Comedy Central's The Daily Show and The Colbert Report will go back on the air without their writers this Monday, and Fox's Saturday-night chatfest, Talkshow With Spike Feresten, reportedly will return on January 12th.

Holiday Weekend TV Choices...

FRIDAY
ABC: Men in Trees, Women's Murder Club, 20/20 (NEW)

CBS: Ghost Whisperer, Moonlight, Numbers

NBC: The Singing Bee (NEW), Dateline (NEW)

FOX: Bruce Almighty (2003)

CW: WWE Friday Night Smackdown

SATURDAY

ABC: Samantha Who? (2hrs), Women's Murder Club

CBS: NFL Network New England vs. New York

NBC: NFL Network New England vs. New York

FOX: Cops (1hr), America's Most Wanted (NEW)

SUNDAY

ABC: The Sound of Music (1965)

CBS: The Amazing Race 12, Cold Case, Shark

NBC: Football: Kansas City/NY Jets

FOX: The Simpsons, King of the Hill, Family Guy, American Dad

CW: Life is Wild, Crowned: Mother of all Pageants

MONDAY

ABC: Shrek 2 (2004), Dick Clark's Primetime New Year's Rockin' Eve 2008

CBS: How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, Rules of Engagement, CSI: Miami

NBC: Saturday Night Live in the 90's: Pop Culture Nation, Law & Order: SVU

FOX: Men in Black II (2002)

CW: Everybody Hates Chris, Aliens in America, Girlfriends, The Game

TUESDAY

ABC: Rose Bowl: Illinois vs. USC

CBS: NCIS, The Unit, 48 Hrs Mystery

NBC: The Biggest Loser: Couples, Law & Order: SVU

FOX: Sugar Bowl: Georgia vs. Hawaii

CW: Crowned: The Mother of all Pageants, One Tree Hill

Courtesy Dave Kent @ The New 93.9 KISS FM, Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill NC!

Get your local listings HERE

Nielsen Ratings

Sunday Night Football topped the Nielsen ratings in the week leading up to Christmas, with the match-up of Washington and Minnesota leading the way. But even so, it only drew 14.1 million viewers.

NBC's singing competition show Clash of the Choirs drew 8.3 million viewers for all four episodes. Low as those numbers are, the show still beat all six editions of the ABC show Duel. Despite the winner taking home nearly two million dollars, the game show failed todraw more than 7.5 million viewers on each night. The final show, which aired Sunday, had even fewer viewers: only 6.2 million, according to last week's Nielsen ratings.

CBS was once again the highest-rated network for the week, followed by NBC, ABC, Fox, the CW, My Network TV, and ION Television.

Here are the top primetime programs for the week of Monday, December 17th-Sunday, December 23rd:

1. Sunday Night Football: Washington at Minnesota, CBS, 14.1 million viewers

2. CSI: Miami, CBS, 14.01 million viewers

3. 60 Minutes, CBS, 13.52 million viewers

4. NCIS, CBS, 13.01 million viewers

5. Criminal Minds, CBS, 11.66 million viewers

6. Biggest Loser 4, NBC, 11.42 million viewers

7. Two and a Half Men (Monday, 9:30 p.m.), CBS, 11.28 million viewers

8. CSI: NY, CBS, 11.19 million viewers

9. Two and a Half Men, CBS, 11.1 million viewers

10. The Unit, CBS, 10.74 million viewers

TV Tonight (12/27)

ABC Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice

CBS: CSI: NY, CSI, Without a Trace

NBC: My Name is Earl, 30 Rock, The Office, Scrubs, ER

FOX: Ice Age (2002)

CW: Smallville, Family TV Awards

Courtesy Dave Kent @ The New 93.9 KISS FM, Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill NC!

Get your local listings HERE

Peace on Earth, Goodwill to men...

The NFL's New England Patriots could make history this Saturday night, and now we all get to see it. Cable's NFL Network, which currently has no agreement with cable companies such as Cablevision and Time Warner Cable, has reached a deal with CBS and NBC to carry its telecast of the Patriots-New York Giants game.

The NFL Network has recently come under criticism for exclusively televising NFL games that only reach a relatively small number of fans, and was scheduled to broadcast this Saturday's contest. Given the potentially historic nature of the game -- the Patriots are trying to become only the second team in NFL history to achieve an undefeated regular season -- the network relented on exclusivity.