Tuesday ratings: 'NCIS' on top; 'Privileged' gains

Tuesday night was another debate-disrupted evening with only the 8 p.m. time period in play among major-network entertainment programming.

CBS' "NCIS" (15.7 million viewers, 3.6 preliminary adults 18-49 rating and a 10 share) came out on top, up a tenth from last week. A one-hour edition of ABC's live "Dancing With the Stars" results show placed second (13.4 million, 3.2/9 -- may shift significantly in the nationals since it aired at 9 p.m. on the West Coast). NBC’s "Biggest Loser" (7.5 million, 3.0/8) held steady. Fox aired a repeat.

None of that is very interesting. What's mildly interesting is that CW's "90210" (3.1 million, 1.6/4) fell a tenth, yet 9 p.m.'s "Privileged" (2.3 million, 1.1/3) gained 22% from last week despite the weaker lead-in.

Three possible reasons for this: Either "Privileged" is gaining some traction, as some have predicted might happen. Or the CW merely benefited from being the only broadcast entertainment programming at 9 p.m. Or  "The Hills" star Lauren Conrad appearing on the show last night drew some new viewers. Most likely, it's the latter two, but we'll check back next week to see if CW's fall underdog series sustains its number. (Hullo, a reader just pointed out a fourth possible reason -- CW aired a "Privileged" repeat on Monday to gain some additional exposure for the show).

Debate ratings and analysis links are here.