CBS’s “NCIS” was the number one-ranked primetime telecast on broadcast TV for Tuesday, October 7, 2008, drawing an audience of almost 16.3 million average viewers.
ABC’s special presentation of “Dancing With The Stars” claimed second place, with almost 15.1 million viewers. ABC's post-debate analysis of the second McCain/Obama presidential debate rounded out the top three, with just over 9.9 million viewers.
Post-debate coverage on NBC, CBS, and FOX also made the top ten.
| RANK | NAME | NETWORK | VIEWERS (P2+) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NCIS | CBS | 16,288,000 |
| 2 | DANCING W/STARS RESULT SP(S)-10/07/2008 | ABC | 15,065,000 |
| 3 | VOTE2008:ANALYSIS-TUE(S)-10/07/2008 | ABC | 9,917,000 |
| 4 | DECISION '08:PRES ANALYS2(S)-10/07/2008 | NBC | 8,349,000 |
| 5 | CAMPAIGN '08-DEBATE ANL-2(S)-10/07/2008 | CBS | 7,951,000 |
| 6 | BIGGEST LOSER 6 | NBC | 7,265,000 |
| 7 | HOUSE | FOX | 6,365,000 |
| 8 | FUEGO EN LA SANGRE TUE | UNI | 5,634,000 |
| 9 | CUIDADO CON EL ANGEL TUE | UNI | 4,637,000 |
| 10 | FOX NEWS: DEB POST 2-10/7(S)-10/07/2008 | FOX | 4,115,000 |
| Source: The Nielsen Company (October 7, 2008). | |||
Overall, CBS won the night with an average audience of just over 13.8 million viewers, while ABC took second place with almost 13.5 million average viewers. NBC and FOX claimed third and fourth places with roughly 7.6 million and 6.1 million average viewers, respectively. Univision and the CW followed in fifth and sixth places with average audiences of roughly 4.7 million and 2.7 million viewers, respectively.