CBS won the November television sweeps period for the 11th straight year but Fox took the honors with the 18-49 year-old age group most coveted by advertisers, according to ratings data on Tuesday.
ABC finished second to CBS in terms of overall viewers, thanks partly to the success of its Emmy-award winning comedy "Modern Family". But there was little joy for NBC, which came last again among the leading four TV networks despite featuring a slew of new comedy and drama shows.
The November sweeps are one of four periods each year in which detailed viewing habits are measured across the United States and used by local TV stations to set advertising rates.
Fox said it had boosted its 18-49 ratings by 13 percent -- the biggest of any network -- compared to November 2010 to give it a victory in the audience group for only the second time.
Fox said its win among those younger viewers was fueled by new comedy "New Girl", reality show "The X Factor" and pricey dinosaur drama "Terra Nova". In terms of overall viewers, Fox finished in third place.
CBS, which boasts hit comedies "Two Broke Girls" and "Two and A Half Men" along with veteran crime shows "NCIS" and the "CSI" franchise tends to attract older viewers. But the network finished second in the 18-49 demographic for the November sweeps, behind Fox and ahead of female-friendly ABC.
NBC, which has revamped its management and prime-time line-up since being taken over by cable giant Comcast in January, saw a five percent decline in overall viewers during November sweeps.
NBC axed its much talked-about new drama "The Playboy Club" after just three episodes in October, along with new comedy "Free Agents". The network's hopes for its "Prime Suspect" remake have also foundered and production of the crime drama has been suspended pending a decision on the show's future.
CBS is part of CBS Corp, Fox is a unit of News Corp, ABC is part of Walt Disney Co. and NBC is majority-owned by Comcast.
