Fox and CBS ended up winning the US ratings battle for 2004-2005 that ended this week. Fox won the youth market for the first time: that’s the 18 to 49 group, while CBS finished top in the broader 25 to 54 group and was a very close second in the 18 to 49 group. The results are detailed here from this New York Times report.

The ABC Network, owned by Disney, was also a winner: sort of, its market share grew 12%, the strongest growth seen in the season. That was due to the three hits it premiered: Desperate Housewives, Lost and Grey’s Anatomy. NBC lost ground, its share falling 19%.

We’ve already seen the impact Desperate Housewives and Lost have had on the Seven Network so far in the 2005 ratings battle. The Network has yet to premier Grey’s Anatomy, which both Nine and Ten know will hurt their schedules in the second half of the year.

Interestingly the US ratings results are based on “regularly scheduled programs” and exclude major events, such as the SuperBowl (which was on Fox): if repeated here, that would mean the Rugby League State of Origin games on Nine could be excluded from the ratings results. But they won’t, it all depends on the meaning of the phrase, “regularly scheduled”. Nine would argue three makes it regular, the others would argue it has to be more.

Meanwhile, the Nine Network has bought two Jerry Bruckheimer (responsible for the CSI series) programs shown at the LA screenings: Closer to Home and E-Ring.