CBS is still prime time's most-watched network

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[August 21, 2013]  NEW YORK (AP) -- CBS continued to rule among viewers last week, scoring 11 of the top 20 prime-time shows.

But the most-watched program of the week was "Duck Dynasty," A&E's hit unscripted series about Louisiana bayou brothers who manufacture duck calls. It summoned 11.77 million viewers for its season premiere.

Falling to second place was CBS' summer thriller, "Under the Dome," with 10.36 million viewers, after previously claiming the top spot.

But CBS' reign as the most-watched network held firm. Overall it averaged 5.37 million viewers, logging its eighth consecutive week in the lead, despite the continuing standoff between the network and Time Warner Cable, which has blacked out CBS stations to 3.2 million customers in New York, Los Angeles and Dallas.

ABC, with 4.12 million viewers, took the runner-up position. Fox had 3.7 million, Univision had 3.06 million, ION Television had 1.33 million, Telemundo had 1.22 million and the CW had 960,000 viewers, according to the Nielsen Co.

Disney Channel was the week's most popular cable network, averaging 2.49 million viewers in prime time. USA had 2.7 million viewers, A&E had 2.18 million, and History had 2.06 million.

NBC's "Nightly News" topped the evening newscasts with an average of 7.2 million viewers. ABC's "World News" was second with 6.9 million, and the "CBS Evening News" had 5.8 million viewers.

For the week of Aug. 12-18, the top 10 shows, their networks and viewerships: "Duck Dynasty," A&E, 11.77 million; "Under the Dome," CBS, 10.36 million; "America's Got Talent" (Wednesday, 9 p.m.), NBC, 9.51 million; "America's Got Talent" (Tuesday), NBC, 8.79 million; "CMA Music Festival," ABC, 8.30 million; "NCIS," CBS, 8.09 million; "60 Minutes," CBS, 7.43 million; "The Big Bang Theory," CBS, 6.71 million; "Unforgettable," CBS, 6.57 million; "Big Brother 15" (Sunday), CBS, 6.48 million.

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ABC and Disney Channel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; CBS is owned by CBS Corp.; CW is a joint venture of Warner Bros. Entertainment and CBS Corp.; Fox is a unit of Twenty-First Century Fox Inc.; NBC, Telemundo and USA are owned by Comcast Corp.; ION Television is owned by ION Media Networks; A&E and History are owned by the A&E Television Networks.

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Online:

http://www.nielsen.com/

[Associated Press; By FRAZIER MOORE]

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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