‘The Simple Life’ gets solid ratings

The debut of “The Simple Life,” Fox’s reality show about Paris Hilton and pal Nicole Richie roughing it on a farm, drew a solid 13 million viewers Tuesday, according to Nielsen Media Research.The Hilton hotel heiress’ recent publicity from a sex video with a former boyfriend that appeared online may have helped.

Her 8:30 p.m. EST Fox series matched a special Tuesday showing of CBS’ “JAG,” which also drew 13 million viewers, and was bettered only by NBC’s “Law & Order: SVU,” which had an audience of 13.6 million.

“The Simple Life” performed better than two other debuting series.

NBC’s “The Tracy Morgan Show,” which kicked off with back-to-back episodes, drew 9.9 million viewers in its first half-hour and 8.7 million in the second — when the sitcom competed against “The Simple Life.” ABC’s crime drama “Line of Fire,” airing at 10 p.m. EST, attracted 9.4 million viewers.

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