Round one of the Great Television War goes to 'Survivor II.'
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CBS' hit reality series scored a narrow victory over the NBC sitcom 'Friends' on Thursday night in their heavily hyped matchup, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Between 8 and 8:30 p.m., 'Survivor II' scored a 17.1 rating and a 25 audience share, while 'Friends' had a 16.6 rating and 24 audience share, according to Nielsen's overnight measurement.
During the second half-hour, 'Survivor II' had a rating of 19.8 and a 28 share. The last 10 minutes of 'Friends' increased to a 17.4 rating and 24 share, and a 20-minute 'Saturday Night Live' special had a 13.7 rating and 19 share.
The overnight ratings measure viewership in 49 major media markets representing two-thirds of the nation's 102.2 million television households. One ratings point equals 675,000 homes, while the share is the percentage of in-use televisions tuned to a given show.
More precise ratings numbers were due later Friday.
Source: Associated Press