CBS 'Survivor' Draws Strong Ratings on Debut

Updated from 4:23 p.m. EDT

"Survivor," the much-hyped reality television program, drew strong ratings in its debut Wednesday night on CBS, but it fell short of besting the blockbuster hit "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" on ABC.

"Survivor", though, topped "Millionaire" in the key demographics most favored by advertisers.

"Survivor" features 16 men and women of diverse ages and personalities living on an island off Borneo in the South China Sea. At the end of each episode, the group votes to throw one person off the island until a single survivor is left. That person wins a grand prize of $1 million. The show, which has been lavished with media attention in recent weeks, is a knockoff of a similar show in Sweden.

For the night, "Survivor," which was broadcast from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern and Pacific time, attracted 17 million to 18 million viewers, or a 11.4 rating and 18 share, according to Nielsen Media Research's overnight measurement in 48 major markets. Still, "Millionaire" won the night, edging "Survivor" by a scant 6% of the viewing audience. "Millionarie" had a 12.1 rating and a 20 share. ABC, a unit of Walt Disney(DIS Quote), scheduled "Millionaire" at the last minute in part to blunt "Survivor's" success.

Each national rating point equals 1,008,000 television households, or 1% of the total. Share is the percentage of sets tuned to a specific show.

Marc Berman, who closely tracks television ratings for trade publication Mediaweek.com, called "Survivor's" debut "stellar." He notes that "Survivor" saw its audience increase by 14% in its second half-hour, a jump that "indicates that viewers are likely to be back next week." Berman added that "Survivor" logged the highest rating in that time slot for Viacom(VIA Quote)unit CBS in two years.

"Survivor", however, beat "Millionaire" across the board in the young demographics strongly favored by advertisers. Among adults 18-49, "Survivor" posted a 6.1 rating, or 22% higher than "Millionaire's" 5.0 rating in that strongly favored demographic by advertisers. "Survivor" easily topped "Millionaire" among adults 18-34 as well. Advertisers look at those numbers because viewers in the 18-49 age range tend to spend more money on their products compared to other age groups.

Over all, ABC won a night that beyond "Millionaire" and "Survivor" was littered with repeats.

The late May debut of "Survivor" is a direct result of the runaway success of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire," which was first broadcast last August. That show's huge audiences turned conventional network wisdom on its head. The summer season has long been viewed as a dead spot in the TV year, a warm-weather period during which viewers are unlikely to stay home to watch television. The season-long success of "Millionaire" is widely regarded has having turned around the fortunes of the entire ABC network, and by extension, the fortunes of one of the world's biggest media companies.

While it is too soon to declare "Survivor" a hit, Berman said it is off to a "roaring start."

Viacom shares finished up 7/16, or 0.7% at 63 7/16. Disney closed down 1/2, or 1%, to 41 11/16.