Presumably convinced that repeat broadcasts of its Thursday night dramas can better defend the Thursday 8PM ET/PT time period until Survivor: Vanuatu premieres on February 17, CBS announced yesterday that effective immediately, Wickedly Perfect (the time period's current occupant) will air on Saturdays at 8PM ET/PT for the duration of its ten-episode run.

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Wickedly Perfect was originally scheduled to move to Saturday evenings beginning February 19. Instead, CBS will now fill the Thursday time period with repeats of Without A Trace (on January 27) and CSI (on February 3 and 10.)

Wickedly Perfect had stumbled out of the gate in its attempt to carry the Thursday night torch until Survivor returns. Its January 5 premiere drew only 9.36 million viewers, a 6.5/10 rating/share in households, a 2.9/8 in Adults 18-49, a 3.4/8 in Adults 25-54, and a 4.6/11 in Women 25-54 -- a modest performance that represented less than half the number of viewers who typically tune in to CBS's Survivor broadcasts.

Wickedly Perfect's second episode performed similarly to its first, drawing 9.16 million viewers but retaining 100% of its Adults 25-54 and Women 25-54 demographic deliveries while increasing 3% in Adults 18-49 and 8% in Women 18-49.

However, last week's third episode struggled significantly versus NBC's "supersized" The Apprentice 3 premiere, drawing only 7.76 million viewers and placing third in its time period in both viewers and Adults 18-49 -- a disappointing performance that CBS no doubt hopes to avoid repeating during the February ratings sweep period that begins February 3.