June
6 "Swingtown" premiere ratings OK; "Fear Itself" not so fearsome

"Swingtown" opened at 10 p.m. to 8.6 million viewers and 2.7 rating/8 share in the adults 18-49 demo, per prelim Nielsens (in the final nationals "Swingtown" went up a tick in the demo to 2.8/8). The '70s-centric drama built ever so slightly on its 9 p.m. lead-in, a "CSI" rerun (9.4 mil, 2.3/7) in the demo and held most of its viewers.

"Fear Itself" opened to 5.2 million viewers and 2.0/6 in 18-49, coming out of the last hour of a 90-minute "Last Comic Standing" (5.3 million, 2.4/7).

Given the sexy subject matter and heavy promotion CBS has given "Swingtown," the initial sampling might've been a little stronger, but the Lakers and Celtics probably took a bite out of the potential male aud for the show. It'll be interesting to see if "Swingtown" gets much of a bump when the Live Plus 7 DVR viewing numbers are factored in.

As for the opening salvo of the NBA championship, which saw the Celtics handily beat the Lakers 98-88, reliable national estimates for ABC's live game coverage won't be available until later today. Prelim numbers indicate a solid, if not spectacular, turnout for the game. Friday afternoon update: Yep, it was solid if not eye-popping. Lakers-Celtics bout drew 13.4 million viewers and 5.4/17 in adults 18-49.