CBS Reality Duo Grabs Ratings

NEW YORK (AP) â€” CBS' back-to-back reality shows, ``Survivor'' and ``Big Brother,'' proved hard for many television viewers to resist Wednesday night. <br><br>Just under 24 million

Monday, July 10th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) â€” CBS' back-to-back reality shows, ``Survivor'' and ``Big Brother,'' proved hard for many television viewers to resist Wednesday night.

Just under 24 million people tuned in to watch the sixth installment of ``Survivor,'' where contestant Joel Klug was voted out because three fellow castaways found him condescending toward women.

That's almost identical to the viewership ``Survivor'' drew the previous two weeks, Nielsen Media Research said Thursday.

An estimated 22.5 million people hung around to watch the premiere of ``Big Brother,'' where 10 strangers agreed to live together in a house for three months under the watchful eye of 28 television cameras.

CBS is airing ``Big Brother'' five nights a week into the fall.

The show gave CBS its biggest audience in the time slot since February's Grammy Awards. It also compares favorably with the 15.5 million people who watched the first episode of ``Survivor'' in late May.

``Big Brother'' drew some scathing reviews, however, and CBS' competitors noted that the show lost about a million and a half viewers as the hour went on. They say the true test will come when ``Big Brother'' doesn't have ``Survivor'' as a lead-in.

Both shows drew a large audience of young adults, which CBS traditionally has had trouble reaching.

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