The debut of NBC’s The Philanthropist drew more viewers last night than did other network offerings in the same time slot, but the drama’s premiere was still considered merely fair.

Approximately 7.41 million people tuned in to see the show’s pilot, according to tvbythenumbers.com. A repeat of CSI: NY, also at 10 pm, attracted 7.39 viewers, and President Obama’s town-hall meeting on health care drew 4.7 million.

But the show about a billionaire businessman who catches the philanthropy bug lost about 17 percent of its audience during the hour, according to Entertainment Weekly.