Survivor Palau beat Apprentice 3 by 8.8 million viewers during face-off Thursday.

Survivor Palau » The Apprentice 3 » May 2, 2005, 7:30 AM

Survivor Palau beat Apprentice 3 by 8.8 million viewers during face-off Thursday.
George W. Bush’s Thursday press conference pushed back Survivor Palau to 9 p.m., although the press conference itself was moved to an earlier time because of The Apprentice 3. The shift forced a showdown between the second- and third-most popular reality shows, and NBC’s The Apprentice 3 lost the battle so severely that Donald Trump may want to hide in the boardroom for a few days. Survivor had 21.2 million viewers, while The Apprentice was watched by 12.4 million viewers, a difference of nearly nine million. CBS’ show also aired in an abnormal timeslot, when CSI normally airs (although perhaps CSI’s massive audience stuck around and helped out).