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10 RUNNERS-UP will win A Pair of Tickets to Dirty Dancing The Classic Story On Stage ONE GRAND PRIZE WINNER Two VIP Tickets to Dirty Dancing The Classic Story On Stage Two Night Weekend Stay at Renaissance Hollywood Hotel Spa Dinner at The Lobby Lounge Breakfast at Twist Restaurant Hollywood Highland $200 Shopping Spree Spa Treatments for Two at Spa Luce BYELEANORBERGSTEIN ENTERTOWINTICKETS andtestyourknowledgeofthisclassicstory: LogontoWWW.LATIMES.COM/DANCING LIMITEDENGAGEMENT HAVETHETIMEOFYOURLIFE! ProgramNet- work Viewers ProgramNet- work Viewers 1 American Idol 2 American Idol 3 Dancing With the StarsABC20.53 4 Dancing With the Stars (results) ABC14.72 5 CSICBS14.64 ------------------------------------------6 Criminal Minds (10 p.m.) CBS13.72 7 Desperate HousewivesABC13.64 8 Anatomy 9 p.m.) ABC13.51 9 NCIS (9 p.m.) CBS12.65 10 The Mentalist (10 p.m.) CBS12.46 ------------------------------------------11 Two and a Half MenCBS11.48 12 Survivor: TocantinsCBS11.30 13 Rules of EngagementCBS10.59 14 Cold CaseCBS10.57 15 60 MinutesCBS10.52 ------------------------------------------16 24FOX10.34 17 The Amazing Race CBS10.27 18 FringeFOX9.89 19 Surviving SuburbiaABC9.87 20 Criminal MindsCBS9.84 ------------------------------------------21 The Mentalist 22 Brothers SistersABC9.31 23 The Biggest Loser NBC9.26 24 Ghost WhispererCBS9.23 25 Private PracticeABC9.08 ------------------------------------------26 The Unit CBS8.84 27 Numb3rsCBS8.82 28 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (8 p.m.) ABC8.66 29 Bones 8 p.m.) FOX8.57 30 BonesFOX8.42 ------------------------------------------31 The ApprenticeNBC8.27 32 CastleABC8.21 33 FlashpointCBS8.19 34 SouthlandNBC8.11 35 Lie to MeFOX7.97 ------------------------------------------36 Funniest Home Videos ABC7.70 37 The Big Bang TheoryCBS7.59 38 MediumNBC7.34 39 The OfficeNBC7.28 40 Law Order: SVUNBC7.04 ------------------------------------------41 IslandCBS7.02 42 KitchenFOX6.80 43 LostABC6.74 44 Family GuyFOX6.67 45 Two and a Half Men CBS6.60 ------------------------------------------How I Met Your MotherCBS6.60 47 48 HeroesNBC6.45 49 30 RockNBC6.30 50 ChuckNBC6.11 ------------------------------------------51 Law OrderNBC6.09 52 The SimpsonsFOX6.00 53 48 Hours MysteryCBS5.94 54 The Big Bang Theory CBS5.86 55 The Unusuals ------------------------------------------56 Law Order 8 p.m.) NBC5.69 57 Law Order: SVU 9 p.m.) NBC5.57 58 My Name Is EarlNBC5.54 59 Gary UnmarriedCBS5.41 60 Es Para Siempre (Tue.) UNI5.38 ------------------------------------------61 Es Para Siempre (Mon.) UNI5.37 62 Es Para Siempre (Thu.) UNI5.28 63 Parks and RecreationNBC5.26 64 Es Para Siempre (Wed.) UNI5.14 65 American DadFOX5.13 ------------------------------------------66 The New Adventures of Old Christine CBS5.07 67 Dateline Sunday (7 p.m.) NBC4.99 68 Anatomy 69 Streisand Live in Concert CBS4.96 70 Es Para Siempre (Fri.) UNI4.88 ------------------------------------------71 Dateline 72 The Unusuals ABC4.74 73 Cuidado con el (Mon.) UNI4.66 74 Scrubs 8 p.m.) ABC4.60 75 Law Order ------------------------------------------76 Crimetime SaturdayCBS4.57 77 Most Wanted: America Fights Back FOX4.50 78 Sit Down Shut UpFOX4.21 79 Better Off TedABC4.19 80 Cuidado con el (Tue.) UNI4.12 ------------------------------------------81 Cuidado con el (Thu.) UNI4.08 82 Next Top Model CW4.01 83 Mujeres Asesinas 84 Cops (8:30 p.m.)FOX3.92 85 Cuidado con el (Wed.) UNI3.89 ------------------------------------------86 Wife SwapABC3.79 87 Ahora 88 Cuidado con el (Fri.) UNI3.52 89 Las Tontas No Van al Cielo (Mon.) UNI3.50 90 According to Jim 8 p.m.) ABC3.36 ------------------------------------------91 According to Jim 8:30 p.m.) ABC3.35 92 La Rosa de Guadalupe (Fri.) UNI3.32 Network averages Here is the number of viewers (in millions) that each network averaged per hour of prime time, for last week and for the season. Network Last week Season to date CBS9.2111.24 FOX8.618.41 NBC6.037.49 FOX8.619.14 UNI3.753.94 Here are the rankings for national prime-time network television last week (April 20-26) as compiled by Nielsen Media Research. They are based on the average number of people who watched a program from start to finish. Nielsen estimates there are 286 million potential viewers in the U.S. ages 2 and older.

Viewership is listed in millions. and With the swept the top four spots, but CBS had nine of the next 11 most- viewed programs to be the most-watched network for the eighth consecutive week. It was the 25th time in the 31 weeks that CBS came out on top, according to figures released Tuesday by Nielsen Media Research. In a week that began with a heavy amount of reruns and ended with four days of May sweeps programming, CBS averaged 9.21 million viewers for its prime-time programming between April 20 and Sunday. Crime Scene was most- watched show and the most-watched scripted program, finishing fifth overall with 14.64 million viewers.

As usual, CBS also had the most-watched comedy series, a rerun of and a Half which came in 11th overall with 11.48 million viewers, and the most-watched newsmagazine, which was 15th with 10.52 million viewers. Fox averaged 8.61 million viewers for the week to finish second, thanks mainly to the usual 1-2 finish by Viewership for the competition program on Tuesday edged up compared to the similar week a year ago, while the viewership for results show was higher. Fox finished first for the 12th consecutive week among viewers ages 18 to 49, the group advertisers covet. Fox also led among viewers ages 12 to 17, 18 to 34 and 25 to 54. As usual, CBS was first among viewers ages 55 and older.

The final 67-minute segment of USA was the most-watched cable program, with 5.5 million viewers, which would have put it 59th among the programs shown on the five major broadcast networks. No song and dance from CBS city news service PRIME-TIME TV RANKINGS When merging onto the freeway and figuring whether they need on the or on the fives that, for many Southland listeners, used to be the sole distinction between all-news radio stations KFWB and KNX. Now the two are trying to stake out separate identities, even while they pool their newsrooms for the first time ever. has been the case that people quite understand if there was a difference, or if there should be a said Andy Ludlum, director of news programming for both KFWB-AM (980) and KNX-AM (1070). Now KNX is being fashioned as the go-to source for world and national news and an in-depth local report, while KFWB offers quick headlines and specializes in the news and business of the entertainment industry what Ludlum called ultimate local And because signal is 10 times that of its sister station, Ludlum said, the ground starts shaking or the hills are on fire, that should be the station you go to.

It really make a lot of sense for two stations to try to be doing the same For more than four decades, however, exactly what they did from 1968, when they switched to all-news formats within a month of each other, until recently, even though been owned by the same company since 1995, what is now called CBS Radio. KFWB was always more short-form, with a staccato, headline-news style carried over from its days as an affiliate of the Westinghouse chain, exemplified by the slogan, us 22 minutes and give you the Meanwhile, KNX took a broader approach and played up the cachet of its CBS News affiliation. However discrete the differences between the two, apparently they were enough for many people to pick a favorite, Ludlum said. According to station research, of the listeners stuck with one or the other, with only crossing over between the two. George Nicholaw, general manager of KNX from 1967 to 2003, said that even after the merger, the two stations remained independent and continued pushing each other, seeing that as the best way to serve listeners.

However, he instructed his sales staff never to bad-mouth KFWB: want as many news listeners as we can But in the current shrinking economy, the stations have trimmed staff and pooled resources, so now reporters are filing dispatches for both stations. like every other business, where going to be Ludlum said. CBS Radio also owns all- news stations WCBS and WINS in New York City, a redundancy that might seem strange to the layperson, said Perry Michael Simon, news- talk-sports editor of the online radio trade journal AllAccess But when KNX and KFWB were independently chasing the same story, their reporters could dig up different facts, he said. fewer news organizations you have out there, the more likely it is things will slip past. this case, I doubt if anybody within that building overjoyed that had to cut back and have to combine Simon said, you have to try to make lemonade.

an interesting thing to skew one of the stations toward the local he said. aniche that been served. In this era, probably a smart thing to try something like that. Might as Simon pointed out that a down economy is a good time to experiment: With less revenue coming in for all stations, the stakes are not as high in case of failure. The ultimate parent company of KFWB and KNX, CBS said its profits fell in the fourth quarter last year because of weak advertising sales, while overall revenue slipped The radio division took much of that hit, with its revenue dropping to $367 million, from the same period the year before.

But figures released last week show another distinction between KFWB and KNX: Their ratings are moving in opposite directions. In February and again in March, KNX garnered 3.1% of the Los Angeles- Orange County radio audience, tied for 14th in the market. Ludlum said the last time audience share was that high was 1995, when it carried the O.J. Simpson trial gavel-to- gavel. Meanwhile, KFWB tied for 27th in March, with a 1.3% audience share a figure that has been dropping since January.

In the summer of 2008, KFWB had even led KNX slightly in the ratings, though it traditionally has lagged behind its sister station. But Simon said the current KFWB experiment probably be judged by ratings but revenue, and whether it can drum up trade-specific advertising, such as new show announcements or your pitches to award show voters. Another change at KFWB is the addition of infomercials on the weekends, also known as shows made to sound like topical call-in programs that are mainly sales venues for the real-estate, financial or health services. Ludlum defended the shows as and while acknowledging a nod to the bottom line. Nicholaw called their addition to the lineup monetary decision, not a news decision.

Times are tougher got to find the best way you can to meet that Simon warned that listeners who hear the disclaimers might think products of the station. my taste, something that puts you at risk of losing he said. another era, when times were better and revenues were higher, you could argue that it hurt the station long-term. a necessary evil at the KNX, KFWB take divergent paths The sister radio stations forge new identities. Infomercials, anyone? Steve Carney CBS Radio ANDY LUDLUM: really make a lot of sense for two stations to try to be doing the same us we would get to the bottom of this sticky mortgage mess.

He bantered lightly with an expert guest, who sounded as blandly affable as the computer Hal in Together, they promised a wondrous payoff, if only I would call this toll-free number or visit that website. Somewhere before the next segment the miracle of fish I emerged from my haze, realizing that dear old News 980, News All the survived in name only. Ituned in a few more times and found the weekend infomercial jag went on without end. But that might seem like the least of changes to longtime listeners. The station will carry 110 Angelsbaseball games this year.

It has shifted a good portion of its news coverage during the week to Hollywood and entertainment news. The changes come as KFWB consolidates operations with its sister station, KNX-AM(1070). And there has been a human cost about two dozen reporters, anchors and writers losing their jobs since October. Included on the hit list were familiar names Vicki Cox, Laura Ornest, Jennifer Bauman, Lonnie Lardner and Larry Carroll. CBS Radio owns both stations and management said it no longer made sense to have two all-news stations in Los Angeles.

Andy Ludlum, director of news programming at KFWB and KNX, says he plans for KNX to maintain its general news format, while KFWB increasingly focuses on entertainment, which he called vibrant, $38-billion industry that has a vital effect on the lives of many people here in Los Some veterans inside the station worried, however, about the steep learning curve for generalists thrown onto the Hollywood beat. They also wondered whether the mix of baseball, entertainment news and infomercials would make KFWB that is neither fish nor thereby hastening its demise. Ludlum called move to infomercials from 6 a.m. Saturday to midnight Sunday business decision on the most effective way to support the radio He said the station alot of stuff because it meet our standards and might try to appear to be part of the news One recently departed KFWB employee said he like the infomercials but that, in a troubled time for advertising, it has become harder to sustain an argument against anything that brings in money. Ludlum insists that the weekend ad blocs will be honed so they offer more worthwhile information, while never leaving a doubt about the source of the programming.

a he said, know a Most listeners could probably guess. But right now the station tends to identify the ad content at the top and bottom of the hour. You can listen to long pitches without hearing once that the guy giving advice is trying to make a buck. Advertisers might not love additional transparency. But that seems like the least KFWB should do, for its listeners and its long tradition of delivering straight news.

james.rainey@latimes.com On the Media also appears Fridays on Page A2. All ads all the time KFWB, from The weekend infomercials are business decision on the most effective way to support the radio Ludlum, director of news programming for KFWB and KNX 08DM523 For home delivery: 1-800-352-2214 or myaccount.latimes.com and enter offer code IP09..