If you're watching television right now, congratulations. You are part of a new world record.

The Nielsen Company announced that TV viewing for the 2008-09 season reached a new high in average watching time. Now the average American spends four hours and 49 minutes every day in front of the idiot box and the average household spends more than eight hours a day watching television. ("God bless America, land where we loaf, staring down from, our favorite futon, all day and night at the light of HBO")

However, this doesn't mean everyone to celebrating. In fact, the big four networks (five if you count the CW) actually saw a decline in viewers because we have so many other choices now between cable and the Internet. Do you any of you actually watch that much television?

Here are the weekly TV ratings, by number of viewers.

A big week for ABC, as they grab the first five spots and eight spots overall in the top 20. That will change next week when Dancing with the Stars is no longer around (and will someone please tell all of the entertainment shows to stop talking about and/or to Marie Osmond? The show is over!). It's always great to see Christmas specials in the top 20 year after year.

1. Dancing with the Stars - Tues (ABC)

Here are the weekly TV ratings, by number of viewers.

Wait a second...is that actually an NBC non-game show in the Nielsen top 20? That must be a typo, let me check...

Nope, it's true! That's a rare sighting, like the Aurora Borealis or a picture of Rosie O'Donnell where she isn't doing that "lip pucker" thing to make her face look thinner. It's so rare I just have to put a pic of Law and Order: SVU to the right. But the ratings were still dominated by Dancing with the Stars and CBS shows.

1. Dancing with the Stars - Mon (ABC)

Here are the weekly TV ratings, by number of viewers.

It's really amazing how CBS kinda owns the ratings every week. Some weeks ABC gets Dancing with the Stars in the top spot, and when American Idol is on FOX gets in the top spot most weeks, but for the most part, CBS dominates. I mean, not only do they have predictable big reality shows in the top 20 each week (Survivor) and longrunning news shows (60 Minutes), but every single one of their CSI shows is in the top 20, as well as other crime shows like Criminal Minds, NCIS, Cold Case, and Without A Trace. That's pretty impressive considering we're talking only 20 slots.

1. CSI (CBS)

Here are the weekly TV ratings, by number of viewers.

It's becoming clear that it's a Dancing with the Stars world, and we just live in it, to paraphrase what they used to say about Sinatra. Not only does the show have two of the top 10 slots this week (and some weeks it has three), it also seems to have a lock on all of the entertainment shows too. What's happening on Dancing with the Stars tonight! Who is getting kicked off! Why did Marie faint? Is Jane Seymour's house safe from the fire? Who is dating who on Dancing with the Stars? Can the dancers of Dancing with the Stars solve the writers strike and bring peace to the Middle East?

I also find it interesting that even though CSI: Miami is the most popular show in the world, it still loses out to that quiet powerhouse, NCIS, in the U.S.

1. Dancing with the Stars - Mon (ABC)

Here are the weekly Nielsen ratings, by number of viewers.

Week after week I post these numbers, and one thing is always abundantly clear: NBC really doesn't have any big, consistent hits on its hands. Sure, Heroes sneaks in once in a while, maybe a Law and Order: SVU here and there or a Deal Or No Deal, but the top 20 is always filled with reality shows, the CSI shows, and doctor shows. I'm looking at this list, and if you take out The World Series - which I watched only because I'm a Red Sox fan - I only watch one of these shows: 60 Minutes. I'm either really out of touch or there are better shows on TV right now (I always fear the former but pray for the latter).

And can someone tell me what Extreme Makeover: Home Edition means? Is there an edition outside, or in space?

1. Dancing with the Stars - Mon (ABC)

Here are the weekly TV ratings, by number of viewers.

1. CSI (CBS)
2. Dancing with the Stars - Mon (ABC)
3. Baseball - Red Sox/Indians, Game 7 (FOX)
4. Desperate Housewives (ABC)
5. Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
6. NCIS (CBS)
7. Dancing with the Stars - Tues (ABC)
8. CSI: Miami (CBS)
9. Criminal Minds (CBS)
10. Samantha Who? (ABC)
11. CSI: NY (CBS)
12. Survivor (CBS)
13. Two and a Half Men (CBS)
14. Extreme Makeover (ABC0
15. Baseball - Red Sox/Indians, Game 7 Pre-Game (FOX)
16. Baseball - Red Sox/Indians, Game 5 (FOX)
17. Sunday Night Football (NBC)
18. Law and Order: SVU (NBC)
19. The OT (FOX)
20. Baseball - Red Sox/Indians, Game 4 (FOX)

Here are the weekly TV ratings, by number of viewers.

1. CSI (CBS)
2. Dancing with the Stars - Monday (ABC)
3. Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
4. Desperate Housewives (ABC)
5. Dancing with the Stars - Tues (ABC)
6. House (FOX)
7. Heroes (NBC)
8. Dancing with the Stars - Weds (ABC)
9. Without A Trace (CBS)
10. CSI: Miami (CBS)
11. Sunday Night Football (NBC)
12. Private Practice (ABC)
13. Extreme Makeover (ABC)
14. Survivor (CBS)
15. Bionic Woman (NBC)
16. NCIS (CBS)
17. Cold Case (CBS)
18. Two and a Half Men (CBS)
19. Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
20. 60 Minutes (CBS)

Looks like CBS and FOX have won the first real ratings battle of the new season.

Last night's premiere of Kid Nation on CBS grabbed 9 million viewers, while the premiere of Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares over on FOX had 6.6 million. When it comes to ratings points, however, the shows were really close, with Nightmares edging Kid Nation by just a little bit. Kid Nation ran over a little bit so that might change the ratings results later today.

I think it would be great if Ramsay guest starred on Kid Nation. Imagine him coming into the town and seeing what these kids were cooking and screaming and swearing at them? "Rock candy? Are you $#&*! stupid? Get off your arses!"

Here are the weekly ratings, by number of viewers.

1. NBC Sunday Night Football (NBC)
2. Emmy Awards (FOX)
3. 60 Minutes (CBS)
4. Sunday Night Football Pre-Kick (NBC)
5. Without A Trace (CBS)
6. Two and a Half Men (CBS)
7. CSI: NY (CBS)
8. CSI (CBS)
9. Big Brother - Thurs (CBS)
10. CSI: Miami (CBS)
11. Football Night in America - Part 3 (NBC)
12. Criminal Minds (CBS)
13. Big Brother - Tues (CBS)
14. House (FOX)
15. NCIS (CBS)
16. Power of 10 - Wed (CBS)
17. The Biggest Loser (NBC)
18. Cold Case (CBS)
19. Rules of Engagement (CBS)
20. Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader (FOX)

Here are the weekly TV ratings, by number of viewers.

1. NBC Sunday Night Football (NBC)
2. NBC Thursday Night Football - Special (NBC)
3. NBC Thursday Pre-Kick (NBC)
4. NBC Sunday Pre-Kick (NBC)
5. 60 Minutes (CBS)
6. Without A Trace (CBS)
7. The OT (FOX)
8. CSI (CBS)
9. Football Night in America, Part 3 (NBC)
10. CSI: Miami (CBS)
11. NFL Opening Kick-Off Show (NBC)
12. Two and a Half Men (CBS)
13. Criminal Minds (CBS)
14. CSI: NY (CBS)
15. Power of 10 - Tues (CBS)
16. Big Brother - Sun (CBS)
17. Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader (FOX)
18. Big Brother - Tues (CBS)
19. ABC Movie - Sun (ABC)
20. Big Brother - Thurs (CBS)

Here are the weekly TV ratings, by number of viewers.

1. Two and a Half Men (CBS)
2. Power of 10 - Tues (CBS)
3. CSI: Miami (CBS)
4. CSI: NY (CBS)
5. Criminal Minds (CBS)
6. Power of 10 - Weds (CBS)
7. Big Brother - Tues (CBS)
8. House (FOX)
9. CSI (CBS)
10. Rules of Engagement (CBS)
11. NCIS (CBS)
12. Just For Laughs (ABC)
13. Without A Trace (CBS)
14. Just For Laughs (ABC)
15. Last Comic Standing (NBC)
16. 48 Hours Mystery (CBS)
17. Big Brother - Thurs (CBS)
18. Cold Case (CBS)
19. 20/20 (ABC)
20. 60 Minutes (CBS)

Here are the weekly TV ratings, by number of viewers.

1. America's Got Talent (NBC)
2. CSI (CBS)
3. Without A Trace (CBS)
4. Two and a Half Men (CBS)
5. 60 Minutes (CBS)
6. NFL Preseason Game (NBC)
7. Power of 10 (CBS)
8. The Singing Bee (NBC)
9. Cold Case (CBS)
10. Criminal Minds (CBS)
11. CSI: NY (CBS)
12. CSI: Miami (CBS)
13. Big Brother - Thurs (CBS)
14. Just For Laughs (ABC)
15. Big Brother - Sun (CBS)
16. Big Brother - Tues (CBS)
17. TV's Funniest Moments (FOX)
18. Last Comic Standing (NBC)
19. Just For Laughs (ABC)
20. NFL Preseason Game (NBC)

You thought the big news on Disney this past week was High School Musical 2? Nope. It was actually what happened to Hannah Montana (wow, a mention of High School Musical and Hannah Montana in the same post - my 14 year-old girl demographic fan base just exploded).

While the musical sequel got big numbers and got all the buzz, the episode of Hannah Montana that followed averaged 10.7 million viewers. That's the highest ratings for a regular series in the history of basic cable. Now, are all these people tuning in to see Miley Cyrus or her dad Billy Ray?

Of course, it helped that Zac Efron and company were the lead in, since High School Musical 2 got over 17 million viewers, the single biggest ratings in basic cable history. Lots of history made over at Disney this week.

[via TV Tattle]

Here are the weekly TV ratings, by number of viewers.

1. America's Got Talent (NBC)
2. 60 Minutes (CBS)
3. CSI (CBS)
4. Power of 10 - Premiere (CBS)
5. Without A Trace (CBS)
6. Singing Bee (NBC)
7. Two and a Half Men (CBS)
8. Hell's Kitchen (FOX)
9. Criminal Minds (CBS)
10. Don't Forget The Lyrics (FOX)
11. CSI: NY (CBS)
12. Dateline (NBC)
13. Singing Bee - Mon (NBC)
14. So You Think You Can Dance - Weds (FOX)
15. Cold Case (CBS)
16. Big Brother - Thurs (CBS)
17. Power of 10 (CBS)
18. Shark (CBS)
19. CSI: Miami (CBS)
20. Big Brother - Sun (CBS)