NBC Has The 'Last Laugh' On Thursday

See Also: 'Last Laugh' Episode Guide

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation may have won its timeslot on Thursday, but it was NBC who was celebrating victory on the first night of May sweeps.

"Last Laugh" scored a 15.8 rating / 24 share, according to fast national data available at Zap2it. This means approximately 15.8% of American households with television sets were tuned into CSI, while the episode was viewed by 24% of households watching television at the time.

Based on these preliminary figures, overall ratings for "Last Laugh" are likely to be down from previous CSI outings, with "A Night At The Movies" and "Precious Metal" both scoring a 16.6/25 and "Crash and Burn" managing a 17.4/26.

CSI still won its 9:00 p.m. timeslot overall, although NBC managed to take out the 9:00-9:30 p.m. half-hour in the key adults 18-49 demographic with a special guest appearance by Madonna on Will & Grace. NBC achieved a 11.9/18 average rating across the hour, far ahead of third place Primetime Thursday special on ABC (5.3/8).

CBS's two other Thursday-night stalwarts, Survivor: Amazon and Without a Trace, fell victim to NBC's long-running Friends and ER, respectively. At the 10:00 p.m. hour CBS's adult viewers did indeed vanish Without a Trace, with both NBC and ABC beating the drama series in the 18-49 demographic.

In the night's final tally, NBC's average rating of 12.9/20 inched past CBS's 12.1/19, with the peacock network claiming victory on the first night of May sweeps. In the 18-49 demographic, NBC's win was more assured, with its 9.6 easily triumphing over CBS's 6.6 average.

Further ratings information is available at Zap2it and the Futon Critic.

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