Disney Rides Lilo , Lack of NFL

With the National Football League taking Sunday night off on ESPN in deference to the World Series, kids’ network pushed their way to the top of the primetime-ratings heap last week.

Disney Channel finished first with a 2.0 household average, edging out the 1.9 recorded by Nickelodeon from Oct. 13-20, according to an ABC Cable Networks Group analysis of Nielsen Media Research data.

USA Network, boosted by the premiere of its original telefilm, D.C. Sniper: 23 Days of Fear
-- the medium’s highest-rated movie of the week recorded a 3.0 Oct. 17 -- was tied with Turner Network Television for third with a 1.7 average.

The "drama" network’s original-film entry, Wilder Days
, the second installment under the "Johnson & Johnson Spotlight Presentation" imprimatur, earned just a 1.6 during its Oct. 19 debut.

Cartoon Network was fifth with a 1.6, ahead of the 1.5 recorded by Lifetime Television. TBS Superstation (1.4.), ESPN (1.2) and The Learning Channel (1.0) were seventh, eighth and ninth, respectively. Fox News Channel, MTV: Music Television, Discovery Channel, Sci Fi Channel, Spike TV, A&E Network and Home & Garden Television all shared the 10th
spot with a 0.9 average for the week.

For HGTV, the primetime performance was the best in the network’s history and up 44% from the corresponding week the prior year, according to HGTV officials.

If Disney reigned in primetime, Nick took total day, averaging a 1.5, 0.3 points higher than its kids’ rival. TNT and Cartoon were next, each with a 1.1, while Lifetime was fifth with a 1.0, according to the ABC Cable Networks analysis.

As for individual shows, Spike’s presentation of World Wrestling Entertainment Inc.’s WWERaw
pinned first for the week with a 3.8 from 10 p.m.-11:07 p.m. Oct. 13, while its previous hour that night was tied for seventh overall with a 3.3.

The big show last week, though, was Disney’s Lilo & Stitch: The Series
. Episodes as part of a marathon Oct. 13 claimed seven of the 21 highest-rated shows for the week, topped by a 3.5 (second overall) from 7:30 p.m.-8 p.m.

Disney’s primetime position was lifted by theatrical George of the Jungle
, which roped a 3.2 Oct. 19, while its original, Halloweentown II: Kalabar
, was tied for 14th,
earning a 3.1 Oct. 13.

Installments of Nick’s Fairly OddParents
, SpongeBob SquarePants
and Jimmy Neutron
combined to grab eight of the top 21 shows last week, including Nos. 3 and 4.

From a nonanimated perspective, FX’s Nip/Tuck
(the first season’s penultimate episode Oct. 14 earned a 3.0, good for a tie for 17th
) and MTV’s reality hit, Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica
(a 2.9 that night, good for a piece of 19th
place), were the week’s highest-rated series fare.