Ratings down from recent years, however

Fast National ratings for Sunday, March 5, 2006

ABC's broadcast of the Academy Awards dominated Sunday's ratings, but early indications are that the show didn't live up to its recent performances.

For the night, ABC averaged a 19.0 rating/29 share among households, more than the combined total of the other broadcast networks (those numbers may change some due to the live telecast). CBS was the best of the rest at 6.5/10, with NBC in third at 4.9/7. FOX's 3.4/5 was good for fourth, beating The WB's 1.4/2.

Among adults 18-49, Oscar night delivered an 11.3 rating for ABC, which includes an hour of arrivals coverage (the primetime portion of the ceremony averaged 12.8, down a couple points from last year). CBS, 2.8, was second in the demographic, followed by FOX, 2.3, and NBC, 2.1. The WB trailed with a 1.0.

The Oscar pre-show posted a 12.3/20 for ABC at 7 p.m. CBS finished second with "60 Minutes," 6.8/11. "Dateline" was third for NBC with a 5.4/9. FOX went with "Malcolm in the Middle" and the movie "Bad Boys 2" and came in fourth. The WB aired a "Reba" repeat and the movie "8 Mile."

At 8 p.m., the opening of the Oscars, hosted by Jon Stewart, delivered a 21.9/33. CBS held onto second with a "Criminal Minds" rerun. "Dateline" improved slightly in its second hour to 5.7/9. FOX's movie scored a 3.6/5, while "8 Mile" averaged 1.4/2 for The WB.

The Academy Awards held fairly steady at 9 p.m. with a 21.8/31. "Cold Case," 6.3/9, was second for CBS. A "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" repeat averaged 4.7/7 for NBC. FOX's movie finished with a 4.1/6, leaving The WB and "8 Mile" in last place for the hour.

The Oscars exited primetime with a 20.1/32 in the 10 p.m. hour (the ceremony ended about 11:30 p.m. ET). A "CSI" rerun averaged 7.0/12 for CBS, topping NBC's "Crossing Jordan," 3.7/6.

Ratings information is taken from fast national data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are preliminary and subject to change, especially in the case of live telecasts.