Survivor: Exhausted? - TV Decoder - Media & Television - New York Times Blog By BENJAMIN TOFF

“Survivor: Micronesia,” the sixteenth edition of the CBS franchise, ended on Sunday, drawing the lowest ratings ever for a season finale of the 8-year-old series. The episode drew an average of 12.9 million viewers from 8 to 10 p.m., according to Nielsen’s estimates, coming up just short of the previous lowest rated finale in the franchise, last year’s conclusion of “Survivor: Fiji” in May (13.6 million).

Although the reality show’s audience has steadily eroded in recent years, the last edition of the series, “Survivor: China” had shown some promise. Its finale in December had fared considerably better than either this year’s closing episode or last year’s, earning 15.2 million viewers.

Despite the somewhat modest ratings, “Survivor” still managed to lead the 8 p.m. hour, besting ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” (11.9 million) and other shows in the time slot. As a result, by the slimmest of margins, CBS eked out a victory as the most watched network for the night, even while trailing ABC in the latter portion of prime time when ABC’s “Desperate Housewives” (15.2 million) and “Brothers & Sisters” (11 million) won the 9 and 10 p.m. time slots, respectively.

CBS’s customary “Survivor” reunion special (10.8 million) finished just behind ABC’s drama in the 10 p.m. hour. CBS did receive a boost during the 7 p.m. time slot with “60 Minutes,” which remained the early hour’s most watched program (10.4 million).

Despite CBS’s edge in total viewers, ABC remained slightly ahead for the night in the important demographic of adults 18 to 49. Fox finished a distant third overall, with a mix of repeats and new episodes of its animated comedies. NBC was fourth, showing mostly reruns.

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