NBC took a Monday in viewership and the key adults 18-49 demographic thanks to a record “Deal or No Deal” and “Heroes” and a second episode of “The Black Donnellys” that was down only slightly from last week’s disappointing premiere.
CBS by contrast had a mostly repeat lineup, with only the season finale of “The Class” and a new “Rules of Engagement” while Fox took second place in the demo with new episodes of “Prison Break” and “24.”
It was all “Deal or No Deal” at 8 p.m., with the Howie Mandel-hosted game show averaging 18.3 million viewers and a 5.4 rating/14 share in the adults 18-49 demographic, according to preliminary data released Tuesday by Nielsen Media Research. It was the highest viewership “Deal” has ever tallied — ahead of June 5, 2006’s 18.2 million — and the highest demo rating since last Nov. 13.
“Heroes” (14.9 million, 6.6/15) continued its strong run with the best viewership its had since Dec. 4 and the highest rated in the demo since Jan. 22. It was the night’s top show in adults 18-49 and ahead of Fox’s “24” (13 million, 4.9/11), which was up slightly week-to-week. “The Black Donnellys” (7 million, 3.0/8) was down from last week’s disappointing premiere (7.9 million, 3.2/8) at 10 p.m.
