After years of fruitless efforts, CBS has found its Fountain of Youth.

Thanks to "Survivor" and the strong debut of "Big Brother," the network was the Nielsens ratings winner among the 18-49 age demographic last week. It was the first time CBS won in that category since 1994, excluding weeks when the Olympics were televised.

CBS has long been penalized by the advertising community, which pays less for commercials on the network because it perceives the network's audience as old and set in their ways. Inroads with a younger demographic could be a financial boon for CBS.

The only drawback is CBS' accomplishment came during the week of July 4th, traditionally the least-watched TV week all year.

"Survivor" was the most popular show for the third straight week, reaching a high-water mark of 24.4 million viewers.

CBS' other reality show, "Big Brother," had 22.4 million viewers for its debut. But the audience steadily eroded, sinking to 6.4 million for Saturday's edition. Initial reports are that "Big Brother" rebounded somewhat Monday night.

After two weeks of reruns, "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" had a strong showing with 21.6 million viewers last Thursday, the night of its fifth million-dollar winner.

For the week, CBS averaged 9.7 million viewers in prime-time (6.8 rating, 13 share), according to Nielsen Media Research. ABC was second with 9.1 million viewers (6.2, 12), NBC had 8.1 million viewers (5.6, 11) and Fox had 6.2 million (4.2, 8).

UPN had 2.8 million viewers (2 rating, 4 share), the WB had 2.4 million viewers (1.7, 3) and Pax TV had 1 million viewers (0.8, 2).

NBC's "Nightly News" won the evening news ratings race with 8.8 million viewers (6.6 rating, 15 share). ABC's "World News Tonight" had 7.9 million viewers (6, 14), while the "CBS Evening News" had 7.3 million viewers (5.7, 13).

A rating point represents 1,008,000 households, or 1 percent of the nation's estimated 100.8 million TV homes. The share is the percentage of in-use TVs tuned to a given show.

Here are the prime-time ratings as compiled by Nielsen Media Research for July 3-9:

1. "Survivor," CBS.
2. "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," ABC.
3. "Big Brother," CBS.
4. "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," ABC.
5. "48 Hours," CBS.
6. "60 Minutes," CBS.
7. "20/20-Downtown," ABC.
8. "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," ABC.
9. "Law & Order," NBC.
10. "Touched by an Angel," CBS.
11. "The Practice," ABC.
12. "Big Brother," CBS.
13. "48 Hours," CBS.
14. "20/20" (Friday)," ABC.
14. "Dateline NBC" (Friday).
14. "Friends," NBC.
17. "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," ABC.
18. "Dateline NBC" (Tuesday).
18. "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS.
20. "CBS Sunday Movie: Too Close to Home."
20. "Frasier," NBC.
20. "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," NBC.
23. "48 Hours," CBS.
23. "Becker," CBS.
25. "ABC Big Picture Show: Con Air."
25. "ER," NBC.
27. "Big Brother," CBS.
28. "NBC Sunday Night Movie: Legends of the Fall."
29. "Third Watch," NBC.
29. "The West Wing," NBC.
31. "Will & Grace," NBC.
32. "Law & Order," NBC.
33. "The Simpsons," Fox.
34. "Macy's 4th of July Fireworks," NBC.
34. "Malcolm in the Middle," Fox.
34. "Whose Line is It Anyway?," ABC.
37. "Dateline NBC" (Wednesday).
37. "Everybdy Loves Raymond," CBS.
39. "King of Queens," CBS.
40. "ABC Monday Night Movie: First Do No Harm."
40. "ABC Saturday Night Movie: Ground Control."
42. "Fox Wednesday Movie: Jerry Maguire," Fox.
43. "Dateline NBC" (Monday).
43. "Nash Bridges," CBS.
45. "America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back," Fox.
45. "King of Queens," CBS.
47. "JAG," CBS.
48. "Candid Camera," CBS.
48. "JAG," CBS.
48. "Whose Line Is It Anyway?," ABC.
51. "Fox Thursday Night Movie: The Frighteners."
51. "Judging Amy," CBS.
53. "Big Brother," CBS.
53. "Cops 2: Albuquerque," Fox.
53. "NYPD Blue," ABC.
53. "World's Most Amazing Videos," NBC.
57. "60 Minutes II," CBS.
58. "Providence," NBC.
58. "World Wrestling Federation Smackdown!," UPN.
60. "Cops: Fort Worth," Fox.
60. "Greed," Fox.
62. "Making the Band," ABC.
63. "Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction," Fox.
63. "Dharma & Greg," ABC.
65. "Freaks and Geeks," NBC.
65. "Whose Line is It Anyway?," ABC.
67. "Making the Band," ABC.
67. "The X-Files," Fox.
69. "Boy Meets World," ABC.
69. "King of the Hill," Fox.
71. "Walker, Texas Ranger," CBS.
72. "City of Angels," CBS.
72. "NYPD Blue," ABC.
72. "Once and Again," ABC.
72. "That '70s Show," Fox.
72. "Wonderful World of Disney: The Adventures of Pinocchio," ABC.
77. "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch," ABC.
78. "Ally McBeal," Fox.
78. "Falcone," CBS.
80. "Futurama," Fox.
80. "Titus," Fox.
82. "3rd Rock from the Sun," NBC.
83. "3rd Rock from the Sun," NBC.
83. "Freaks and Geeks," NBC.
85. "Freaks and Geeks," NBC.
86. "Family Guy," Fox.
87. "Family Guy," Fox.
87. "The Parkers," UPN.
87. "The PJs," Fox.
90. "7th Heaven Beginnings," WB.
90. "Charmed," WB.
90. "For Your Love," WB.
90. "The Jamie Foxx Show," WB.
90. "The Jamie Foxx Show," WB.
90. "The Steve Harvey Show," WB.
96. "The Jamie Foxx Show," WB.
96. "The PJs," Fox.
98. "7th Heaven," WB.
98. "Moesha," UPN.
98. "The Steve Harvey Show," WB.
101. "For Your Love," WB.
101. "Grown Ups," UPN.
101. "Malcolm & Eddie," UPN.
104. "Star Trek: Voyager," UPN.
105. "Dawson's Creek," WB.
105. "Mission Hill," WB.
105. "Secret Agent Man," UPN.
108. "7 Days," UPN.
108. "Angel," WB.
108. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," WB.
108. "Dawson's Creek," WB.
108. "Diagnosis Murder," Pax.
108. "Popular," WB.
108. "Roswell," WB.
108. "The Strip," UPN.
116. "Diagnosis Murder," Pax.
117. "Diagnosis Murder," Pax.
117. "Pax TV Sunday Mystery Movie: Diagnosis Murder: X Marks the Murder."
117. "Touched by an Angel," Pax.
117. "Touched by an Angel," Pax.
121. "Diagnosis Murder," Pax.
121. "Diagnosis Murder," Pax.
123. "Touched by an Angel," Pax.
124. "It's A Miracle," Pax.
125. "It's A Miracle," Pax.
125. "Touched by an Angel," Pax.
127. "I Dare You!," UPN.
127. "It's A Miracle," Pax.
127. "Promised Land," Pax.
127. "Shasta," UPN.
127. "Touched by an Angel," Pax.
127. "Twenty-One," Pax.
127. "Twice in a Lifetime," Pax.
127. "U.S. Olympic Trials-Diving 1," Pax.
135. "Dilbert," UPN.
135. "Promised Land," Pax.
137. "Chicken Soup for the Soul," Pax, 0.

Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS