CBS crime drama Criminal Minds edged closer to Lost in their latest ratings battle, preliminary data from Nielsen Media Research indicates.

Fast national numbers have ABC's Lost in the lead for the 9pm hour, averaging 16.6m viewers and a 17% share in the adults 18-49 demographic. Criminal Minds trailed in the demo with an 11% share but in terms of total viewers, it nearly tied ABC with 16.5m. Lost was down over 10% from its opening numbers last week, while Criminal Minds' demo share is up. The Biggest Loser on NBC came third with 7.4m viewers and an 8% 18-49 share.

At 8pm, the series premiere of SNL alum Tina Fey's 30 Rock did well for NBC (8.3m viewers and a 9% 18-49 share) against ABC's Dancing With The Stars, which impressed as usual with 18.1m viewers and a 13% 18-49 share, and Jericho on CBS which held steady with around 11m viewers and a 9% share in 18-49.

At 10, CSI: NY comprehensively won the hour with 17.7m viewers and a 16% 18-49 share. The hour was a near-disaster for ABC, with The Nine's second episode down nearly a third in both total viewers and demo share from its week-ago debut numbers. The drama averaged 8.4m viewers and a 9% 18-49 share, barely beating a Kidnapped-replacement schedule rescuer in the shape of Dateline NBC, which averaged 8.2m viewers and an 8% 18-49 share.

Fox was in baseball coverage all evening, with fast numbers indicating a night-long average of 8.3m viewers and an 8% share in 18-49.