TV Ratings: CBS Tuesday repeats top 'Mental' premiere, 'Reaper' finale

Simon Baker of 'The Mentalist'

Credit: Sonja Flemming/CBS

Fast National ratings for Tuesday, May 26, 2009.

You can expect to hear this a lot over the summer: While other networks aired new programming on Tuesday night, CBS' procedural repeats still dominated the night in most key measures.

Among adults 18-49, CBS averaged a 2.3 rating, nipping the 2.1 rating for NBC and FOX's 1.9 rating. ABC and The CW both posted a 0.8 rating in the key demographic.

Overall, CBS averaged an estimated 11.37 million viewers to go with a 7.5 rating/12 share, far ahead of the 4.3/7 for second place ABC. FOX was third with a 3.2/5, followed by the 2.3/4 for ABC and The CW's 1.2/2.

[Again, a reminder that unless it says otherwise, most scripted shows should be considered as repeats.]

CBS swept the primetime hours starting at 8 p.m. with an 8.0/13 for an "NCIS" repeat. NBC's "TV's Funniest Catch Phrases" special was second with a 3.9/6. ABC's two new "According to Jim" episodes and FOX's "House" repeat took third. On The CW, the season (series?) finale of "Reaper" had a 1.4/2, up from recent weeks, averaging 2.22 million viewers.

"The Mentalist" won the 9 p.m. hour for CBS with an 8.1/13. NBC's special improved to a 4.8/8 in second. The series premiere of "Mental" on FOX improved on its lead-in and averaged a 3.6/6, to go with just under 5.8 million viewers. The second night of ABC's "Diamonds" was in fourth place, topping the 1.0/2 for The CW's "Hitched or Ditched" premiere.

At 10 p.m., CBS' "Without a Trace" had a 6.4/11 to win the hour. NBC's "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" was second, while the conclusion of "Diamonds" had a 2.2/4 for ABC to go with a dismal 0.6 demo rating.

All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.

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Daniel Fienberg
Executive Editor

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A long-time member of the TCA Board and a longer-time blogger of "American Idol," Dan Fienberg writes about TV, except for when he writes about movies or sometimes writes about the Red Sox. But never music. He would sound stupid talking about music.