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List of top 20 prime-time shows in Nielsen ratings

Prime-time viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen Media Research for Aug. 18-24. Listings include the week's ranking, with viewership for the week and season-to-date rankings in parentheses. An "X" in parentheses denotes a one-time-only presentation.

1. (X) "Summer Olympics Closing Ceremony," NBC, 27.83 million viewers.

2. (X) "Summer Olympics Tuesday," NBC, 26.63 million viewers.

3. (X) "Summer Olympics Monday," NBC, 26.37 million viewers.

4. (X) "Summer Olympics Wednesday," NBC, 24.76 million viewers.

5. (X) "Summer Olympics Thursday," NBC, 22.44 million viewers.

6. (X) "Beijing Closing Party," NBC, 20.58 million viewers.

7. (X) "Summer Olympics Friday," NBC, 17.88 million viewers.

8. (X) "Summer Olympics Saturday," NBC, 16.76 million viewers.

9. (16) "Two and a Half Men," CBS, 8.16 million viewers.

10. (15) "NCIS," CBS, 7.61 million viewers.

11. (10) "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 7.29 million viewers.

12. (88) "Flashpoint," CBS, 7.21 million viewers.

13. (22) "60 Minutes," CBS, 6.70 million viewers.

14. (17) "CSI: Miami," CBS, 6.38 million viewers.

15. (124) "Big Brother 10" (Thursday), CBS, 6.17 million viewers.

16. (109) "Big Brother 10" (Tuesday), CBS, 6.12 million viewers.

17. (29) "CSI: NY," CBS, 6.06 million viewers.

18. (124) "Big Brother 10" (Sunday), CBS, 6.04 million viewers.

19. (22) "Criminal Minds," CBS, 5.92 million viewers.

20. (175) "Cold Case," CBS, 5.85 million viewers.

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ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co. CBS is a division of CBS Corp. Fox is a unit of News Corp. NBC is owned by General Electric Co.

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