Joey and the ratings Week 19

[Brian Damage]

As Thursday night began the final week of February sweeps, Joey managed to avoid setting another record low. Unfortunately, the good news ends there for the freshman spin-off, which fell to third in its timeslot behind Survivor: Palau and ABC's Peter Jennings Reporting special entitled "UFO: Seeing Is Believing." The program remained stuck around 10 million viewers, receiving its second-smallest audience ever for a new episode. The nineteenth episode of Joey pulled a 6.8 rating and a 10 share, slightly ahead of last week's 6.6/10. With an estimate of just 10.01 million viewers, Joey ranked seventh for the night, as shown by the preliminary ratings.

1. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: 17.1/25

2. Without a Trace: 13.7/22

3. Survivor: Palau: 12.4/19

4. ER: 10.6/17

5. The Apprentice 3: 9.1/14

6. Peter Jennings Reporting (UFO: Seeing Is Believing): 7.8/11 [Estimate]

7. Joey: 6.8/10

7. Will & Grace: 6.8/10

CBS was impressive as usual, finishing the night with a 14.4/22 average that easily dominated NBC's second-place 8.8/14. Joey slipped out of the season-to-date top twenty in January. American Idol and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation have a stranglehold on the top spots, while Joey continues to compete with Will & Grace for the number-three sitcom behind Everybody Loves Raymond and Two and a Half Men. Joey now enters a period of repeats amongst a pattern of struggling ratings, as Survivor: Palau will likely increase its lead in the primetime-opening timeslot.