'Temptation Island' Draws 16M

LOS ANGELES (AP) â€” The debut of Fox's ``Temptation Island'' proved enticing for viewers, with 16 million tuning in to see sexy singles test the fidelity of four couples. <br><br>According

Friday, January 12th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

LOS ANGELES (AP) â€” The debut of Fox's ``Temptation Island'' proved enticing for viewers, with 16 million tuning in to see sexy singles test the fidelity of four couples.

According to preliminary ratings Thursday, the reality series drew a bigger audience Wednesday than the debut of CBS' ``Survivor.'' That show premiered with 15.5 million viewers last May.

``Temptation Island,'' which critics and religious leaders said had a destructive premise, also outdrew the Tuesday premiere of ABC's ``The Mole.''

The ABC reality series, which takes over the Tuesday slot of ``Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'' for nine weeks, failed to match the Regis Philbin quiz show in total viewership but attracted a younger audience. It was 26 percent smaller than Philbin's average audience in that slot.

ABC pronounced itself satisfied with the 13.7 million viewers who watched ``The Mole,'' in which contestants solve challenges and ferret out the saboteur in their midst for a prize of up to $1 million.

``The Mole'' increased viewership among the prized demographic of adults 18 to 34 for the 8 p.m. EST Tuesday time slot by more than 50 percent compared to the season average, according to ABC numbers.

Fox also drew a young audience for ``Temptation Island.'' It was the network's highest-rated Wednesday premiere ever among young adults, besting competitors including NBC's ``The West Wing'' in that demographic, the network said.

Ratings aside, ``Temptation Island'' has caused headaches for Fox.

A background check failed to reveal that one of the couples had a child together, a violation of Fox's rules for the show. They were removed from the island off Belize midway during filming.

That echoed the embarrassment Fox suffered when it turned out that groom Rick Rockwell of ``Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire?'' had been the subject of a restraining order request by a fiancee.

``Temptation Island,'' which has been hyped with sexy promos, also found itself undermined by an Internet site report: WorldNetDaily, quoting an anonymous source, said none of the couples gave in to temptation.

``Survivor,'' which kept the secret of contestant Richard Hatch's victory until the end, had a final audience of 51 million viewers in August.