Daily News from New York, New York • 106

IlllUlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllilllulllllUllillllllllllllUtliilllitllllil lUHIIillll IS 7 1 W.S ft 3 ItCUIUii TONIGHT V. 4 SEASON PREMIERES tr 8:00 p.m. (CBS) "Survivor Thailand." We re back to aar island, where this series began but this time it's the island of Koh Tarutao, off the coast of Thailand. At CNN opening, Fox ready for a street fight CNN unveiled a new street-side studio yesterday and a detachment from rival Fox News Channel was there to join the festivities. The new studio in the Time-Life Building, home to Paula Zahn's "American Morning," is near the site of Fox' breakfast show, "Fox and Friends," with hosts E.D.

Hill, Brian Kilmeade (S isf) Si and Steve Doocey. So, when Zahn went on the air, Fox had 20 models outside wearing "Fox and Friends" shirts while handing out C7 Viewers prefer 'Dating' to "70s' By STEPHEN BATTAGUO DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER There may be finally be life after "Who Wants to Be A Millionaire" for ABC. The launch of the network's new comedy "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter" averaged 17.3 million viewers Tuesday at 8 p.m., giving the left-for-dead ABC its largest audience in the time period since April 2001. The ratings from Nielsen Media Research exceeded expectations within ABC and other networks, especially Fox, which aired a heavily promoted season premiere of "That '70s Show" against "8 Simple Rules," which stars John Ritter. "That '70s Show" was a distant second in the half-hour with 10 million viewers.

ABC also got strong results from "Life With Bonnie" at 8:30 p.m., which averaged 16.1 million viewers. Both ABC shows won their time period with viewers aged 18-49, the audience most important to advertisers. "ABC must be breathing a sigh of relief," said Steve Sternberg, a senior vice president for the ad-buying firm Magna Global. "It looks like these shows may have something to them." ABC's ratings collapse has been the story of the television business for the past year. So ifg! jit IU'rliM' SIMPLE TO WATCH: Amy Davidson and John Ritter in ABC's surprise hit premiere much so that executives at the network and parent company Walt Disney are under the gun to turn things around this season or else.

The jury is still out on whether they succeeded, according to an executive at a competing network. "They got some sampling," the executive said. "It's a question of where they are in weeks four, five and six." Competitors suggested ABC would have difficulty launching new shows because the its ratings were so low over the summer. But ABC executives spent heavily on outside promotion for its fall programs and got help from other Disney properties such as ESPN. "The Disney synergy efforts had a great impact," said ABC Entertainment President Susan Lyne.

"There was not a stone unturned in getting the word out." granola bars, Frisbees and fruit juice. It was a way to "welcome Paula to the neighborhood," said a Fox source. Fox' sidewalk stunt didn't affect CNN's show, said a CNN spokeswoman. "It was silly and inconsequential," she said. Richard Huff Johnson heads 4's news Barbara Johnson has been named news director at WNBCCh.

4. Johnson joins the station after 1 1 years at WABCCh. 7. Most recently she was the executive producer of Ch. 7's 5 and 6 p.m.

newscasts. She replaces Dlanne Doctor, who recently left forWCBSCh.2. R.H. Dot's all Kelly Rlpa is the host of "Reading: Your ABC's to Success," a half-hour literacy special set to air Saturday on WABCCh. 7 at 7:30 p.m.

r- WPIX will soon air 4'k hours of daily programming in Spanish for viewers with sets using Second Audio Program (SAP) By DONNA PETROZZELLO DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER CBS' "Survivor" has been though four editions and has displayed some Nielsen erosion, yet experts believe it will remain among the top-rated shows on the air this season. While other prime-time reality shows such as Fox's "Temptation Island" and "Boot Camp" have come and gone since CBS unveiled "Survivor" in May 2000, the grand-daddy of the reality contest genre has been able to keep a sizable audience each time out. Media analysts expect "Survivor: Thailand," launching tonight at 8, to draw roughly the same audience as the last two editions about 20 million viewers. At a time when even the biggest shows tend to lose viewers each season, just maintaining the crowd from a year ago is notable. "Never underestimate the value of being first," said TV researcher Tim Brooks, co-author of "The Complete Directory to Prime-Time Network and Cable TV Shows." "Sometimes the first show to open a genre outlives all its imitators, like 'Gunsmoke' did among TV Westerns." Others attribute "Survivor's" staying power to the months-long gap that CBS has left between installments.

'Survivor hasn't oversaturated itself," said Steve Sternberg, senior vice president ers," said Sam Armando, director of national TV research for ad-buying firm Starcom Worldwide. "I think 'Survivor still will be the number-one-ranked reality show this But while "Survivor: Thailand" has earned a thumbs-up from most analysts, the franchise has lost some buzz. An estimated 51.7 million viewers watched the final episode of the first "Survivor" in August 2000, while 25 million watched the conclusion of "Survivor: Marquesas" in last season's more competitive May sweeps, according to Nielsen Media Research. And, although the most recemVSur-vivor" averaged 20.8 million first two averaged more than 28 million. "Survivor" executive producer Mark Burnett considers 20 million to be the series' core audience, and he'll trot out new tricks in "Survivor: Thailand" in hopes of preventing those loyal legions from drifting to another show's shore.

Viewers should expect revamped reward and immunity challenges and a significantly altered eating contest, according to Burnett and "Survivor" host Jeff Probst. "I'd like the show to evolve slowly and subtly," said Burnett, who with CBS already is casting for a sixth "Survivor." "We get an average of 20 million viewers each week and I'd like to keep them off-balance. But I don't want to have a revolution and break something that's already working so well." Answers to yesterday's TV Jumble: PLOTS, FLYING, MARTIN, LAWYERS. Bonus Jumble: GET SMART. SHORE THING: New "Thailand" contestants for ad-buying firm Magna Global "I think people miss it." Others credit the show's cast, which this season includes a former soft-core porn movie actor, a pastor and a Navy swim instructor, for keeping people tuned in.

The producers still do a decent job of casting 'Survivor' with people that appeal to view TV Rating Guide EXTRAORDINARY: A must-eee Vi OUTSTANDING: Highly prateed GOOD: Bettor than average 7i MIR: Ha Its moments AVERAGE: WatcnaMe 7t MARGINAL: Deeply flawed AWFUL: Unwatehabte.